NASCAR Podcast
SHOW #367 – Guest: Brennan Poole – We recap Kentucky, what did Brian France just say?, Days of Thunder is back, Casey Mears has new ink, Kenny Wallace goes out in style, plus a full New Hampshire Preview…or is it Louden? Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby Christie
( Roughly 48:00 mins)
KENNY WALLACE LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT CHAPTER IN RACING CAREER
–“Herman” Hopes to End NASCAR Career on Top; 547 Career Starts Will Mark a New Standard for Longevity in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series–
CHARLOTTE, NC (July 14, 2015)–The August 1st U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway will be Kenny Wallace’s third NASCAR Xfinity Series start of 2015. The ever-popular Wallace announced today that after what will be a series-record 547 career starts, the Iowa event will also mark the final start of his 26-year NASCAR career.
While his NASCAR career may be coming to a close, the man affectionately known to friends and fans as “Herman,” doesn’t plan to go out without a fight. He heads to Iowa with what is likely one of his best chances ever to capture the checkers. Wallace will be at the helm of the ever-competitive No. 20 U.S. Cellular Toyota in the event. The No. 20 team currently sits fourth overall in the Xfinity Series Owner Standings and won the pole position for the season’s first race at Iowa Speedway.
Wallace noted, “To me, this isn’t a sad moment; I’m at a truly happy place in my life right now. After all, not too many guys get to have the privilege of being a NASCAR driver, especially for as long as I have. I really wanted to end my long career on a positive note and I’m very excited about our chances in Iowa. The No. 20 team is one of the best in the sport and I’m looking forward to having a chance to end my NASCAR career with a great finish. I really want to thank U.S. Cellular for helping me make that happen.”
When all is said and done after Iowa, the former Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year and three-time Most Popular Driver will leave behind a remarkable legacy of longevity and perseverance that is nearly unparalleled in the sport. This is shown by what will be–following Iowa–an all-time record 547 career Xfinity Series starts and 904 combined NASCAR national series starts (14th all-time).
After making his NASCAR debut in Dale Earnhardt’s No. 8 Xfinity Series ride at Martinsville in 1988, Wallace would go on to finish among the top-10 in the Xfinity Series standings in 10 of his 14 full seasons, including a runner-up finish in 1991. His nine series wins and ten poles rank him among the top-40 all-time in both categories, while his 173 top-ten finishes mark the seventh-best all-time career total.
Wallace may have most often competed in the Xfinity Series, but he also enjoyed a fruitful career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as well, where he had 344 career starts, including three poles. While he may not have reached victory lane in the Cup series, Wallace played a vital role in several of its most memorable finishes, including pushing the late Dale Earnhardt to his final NASCAR victory at Talladega in 2000.
In recent years, Wallace has been able to capitalize on his charismatic personality and racing experience in becoming a NASCAR analyst for FOX Sports. In that role, he currently appears on Fox Sports 1’s NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane shows.
Said Wallace, “Growing up as a kid and watching my Dad race in Rolla, MO, I never dreamed that I’d have the chance to do what I’ve done in my life. I’ve had a long and successful career and I’ve been able to support my family doing what I love. To me, it doesn’t get any better than that. I’m really proud of everything that I’ve been able to accomplish in NASCAR.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to turn my NASCAR driving career into another career doing something else I love-that’s working with FOX Sports on television. Those guys have been great to me and I get a lot of happiness from being able to educate the fans about the sport that I love. I’m going to stay involved in the sport through TV and I’m going to stay behind the wheel in my dirt cars too.
“You know, everyone experiences change at some point and I’m honestly looking forward to opening the next chapter in my life. As always, I promise that I’m going to have a lot of fun doing it.”
Many fans know that Kenny Wallace is an avid user of the social networking platform Twitter, and enjoys engaging with fans through his username, @kenny_wallace. Starting today, fans are encouraged to tweet their favorite Kenny Wallace memories using the hashtag #thankskenny. The authors of Kenny’s top-26 favorite tweets-representative of his 26 years in NASCAR-will be rewarded with an autographed hat from the Iowa race weekend.
# # #
Kenny Wallace’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Career at a Glance (Before Iowa)
Starts: 546 (First All-Time)
Laps Completed: 101,673 (First)
Points Scored: 57,398 (Second)
Lead Lap Finishes: 247 (Third)
Earnings: $11,348,216 (Fifth)
Top-10 Finishes: 173 (T-Seventh)
Laps Led: 2,979 (19th)
Top-Five Finishes: 66 (22nd)
Poles: 10 (T-30th)
Wins: 9 (T-37th)
Top-10 Points Finishes: 10 of 14 full seasons
July 11, 2015
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
SPARTA, Ky. – Adapting adroitly to a new competition package for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars, Kyle Busch sped to victory in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, taking a giant step toward the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with his second victory in seven races since returning from an 11-race injury absence.
Busch won for the 31st time in his career and the second time at the 1.5-mile track. Race runner-up Joey Logano was the only interloper in a top five that included all four Joe Gibbs racing drivers—Busch, Denny Hamlin in third, Carl Edwards in fourth and Matt Kenseth in fifth.
Busch grabbed the lead from Logano after several laps of intense racing, taking the point at the stripe on Lap 248 and clearing Logano’s Ford through Turn 2 on Lap 249 of 267. From that point, Busch pulled away to win by 1.594 seconds.
Busch led a race-high 163 laps, scoring a maximum 48 points and moving to 35th in the standings, 87 points behind Cole Whitt in 30th. Busch must finish the first 26 races in the top 30 in order to be eligible for the Chase.
It didn’t take long for NASCAR’s new lower-downforce aero package to have a visible effect on the racing. On Lap 95, after he had trimmed Kyle Busch’s four-second lead to a car-length, Brad Keselowski (whose winning chances were snookered by a series of snafus on pit road) tucked behind Busch’s Toyota Camry, took the air off the shorter 3.5-inch spoiler and shot into the lead.
Three laps later, Kurt Busch spun off Turn 4 when the rear of the No. 41 Chevrolet stepped out.
The new package also had an ostensible effect on brakes, putting more stress on the smaller rotors and calipers that have been in vogue with higher-downforce configurations. On Lap 136, Dale Earnhardt Jr. slapped the wall, unable to slow his car adequately in the corner.
Beyond that, the absolute dominance of the Hendrick Motorsports armada—including the Stewart-Haas Racing affiliates—was nowhere in evidence on Saturday night. Jimmie Johnson struggled and salvaged a ninth-place finish. Jeff Gordon (seventh) fell short in an ill-fated attempt to complete a career sweep of active Sprint Cup tracks.
Kevin Harvick (eighth) was good, but the reigning series champion was not up to his usual untouchable standard. Kurt Busch (10th) was fast, but not fast enough.
Overall, based on a sample size of one race, the new package seemed to shift the balance of power in the series, at least marginally, from the Chevys of Hendrick and Stewart-Haas to the Fords of Team Penske and the Toyotas of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Emblematic was a late-race restart on Lap 192. Logano got past Harvick immediately. Edwards followed in the No. 19 JGR Toyota 12 laps later, right before the race-record-tying 10th caution for Danica Patrick’s crash in Turn 4 (after a tap from Earnhardt, whose brakes were still malfunctioning) brought the field to pit road with 58 laps left.
Hamlin won the race off pit road and led JGR teammates Kyle Busch and Edwards to green on Lap 213. By the time the teammates got back to the stripe, they were three-wide barreling toward Turn 1. Hamlin shot ahead into the lead, Logano surged past Busch and Edwards into second, and Keselowski grabbed fifth place from Kenseth before Kyle Larson’s cut tire caused the 11th caution on Lap 219.
Logano and Kyle Busch roared to the front moments after the subsequent restart on Lap 225, and, 23 laps later, Busch had the lead for good.
–30–
1 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 17th
2 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 2015 Owner Points 8th
3 24 Jeff Gordon AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 10th
4 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil/AutoTrader Ford 2015 Owner Points 5th
5 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 6th
6 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 4th
7 1 Jamie McMurray Cessna Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 7th
8 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 2015 Owner Points 12th
9 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Crispy Toyota 2015 Owner Points 21st
10 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 2nd
11 3 Austin Dillon DOW Styrofoam Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 22nd
12 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 2015 Owner Points 16th
13 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 3rd
14 27 Paul Menard Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 13th
15 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 1st
16 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 2015 Owner Points 9th
17 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Fifth Third Bank Ford 2015 Owner Points 28th
18 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Advanced Auto Speed Perks Ford 2015 Owner Points 26th
19 5 Kasey Kahne LiftMaster Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 11th
20 19 Carl Edwards Comcast/Minions Toyota 2015 Owner Points 18th
21 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 23rd
22 14 Tony Stewart Rush Truck Centers Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 25th
23 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 20th
24 47 AJ Allmendinger Kroger/Scott Products Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 24th
25 55 David Ragan Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 2015 Owner Points 29th
26 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 14th
27 16 Greg Biffle Ortho Ford 2015 Owner Points 19th
28 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 2015 Owner Points 27th
29 46 Michael Annett Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet ’15 Owner Atpts 17 – 39th
30 15 Clint Bowyer Hughes General Contractors/Casey’s Toyota 2015 Owner Points 15th
31 7 Alex Bowman Advance Auto Parts/Quaker State Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 34th
32 51 Justin Allgaier Fraternal Order of Eagles Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 30th
33 35 Cole Whitt Kentucky Fried Chicken Ford 2015 Owner Points 31st
34 38 David Gilliland Love’s Travel Stops Ford 2015 Owner Points 32nd
35 26 Jeb Burton # Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota ’15 Owner Atpts 17 – 43rd
36 40 Landon Cassill(i) CRC Brakleen Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 35th
37 98 Josh Wise Big Red Ford ’15 Owner Atpts 17 – 38th
38 34 Brett Moffitt # Dockside Logistics Ford 2015 Owner Points 33rd
39 83 Matt DiBenedetto # Anest Iwata Toyota ’15 Owner Atpts 17 – 37th
40 32 Will Kimmel III CorvetteParts.net Ford ’15 Owner Atpts 17 – 41st
41 23 JJ Yeley(i) TraqGear/Coolshirt Toyota ’15 Owner Atpts 17 – 40th
42 62 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet ’15 Owner Atpts 17 – 45th
43 33 Alex Kennedy # Chevrolet 2015 Owner Points 36th
21 Ryan Blaney(i); #95 Michael McDowell; #30 Travis Kvapil(i).
The Final Lap Weekly 