Veteran NASCAR driver felt that he had everything set and cleared to make his mega comeback at the Daytona 500. The 65-year-old driver signed up with MBM Motorsports and was all set to attempt to qualify for the Great American Race. He apparently got the go-ahead for this effort from the NASCAR president, but a phone call by Elton Sawyer shook him to the core.
Wallace, in a social media post, explained that NASCAR had denied his entry in the Daytona 500. The sanctioning body cited that he has not raced on any intermediate or larger tracks since 2015. Had this request been approved, this would have been Wallace’s first time driving the Next Gen race car, and he would also have become the second oldest driver to start the Daytona 500 after Mark Thompson (66) in 2018.
However, prestige and history weren’t the motive behind Mike Wallace’s return to Cup racing. He wanted to pay tribute to his late wife Carla and share a wholesome moment with his kids by clicking a picture on the pit road. Well, after the NASCAR announcement, he was crestfallen and once again took to social media to express his feelings about the same. Wallace mentioned he felt disrespected by NASCAR and also raised questions on the new Open Exemption Provisional being handed to Helio Castroneves.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
“Talking about shoving a knife in my heart and back at the same time, they have succeeded, and I found out this current situation means absolutely nothing to them and they could care less and unfortunately his previous personal commitment to me and verbally indicating everything is good was not honest… I’m not talented enough to race the current cars. Even though the series is going to allow a driver with no (zero) experience in this series to be guaranteed a starting position in this world famous race.” Wallace shared this on Facebook.
Well, the NASCAR community was divided on Mike Wallace’s return in the first place. However, this emotional rant by the veteran driver provided an opportunity for the fans to get on his back. And those who were against his Daytona 500 from the get-go were glad to see NASCAR ending this saga.
Fans didn’t appreciate Wallace’s livid reaction to NASCAR’s decision
Helio Castroneves might not have raced in NASCAR, but he’s an active race car driver. Out of his four Indy 500 triumphs, the most recent one was in 2021. It’s fair to say that the Brazilian is past his prime years, but he certainly can drive a race car. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours at Daytona; this shows he can deliver the goods on multiple fronts. And this was the argument brought up by this race fan. “There’s a difference between a 49 year old who races at 230+ mph every May and a 65 year old who hasn’t done sh-t in a race car for 10 years. Mike it’s over buddy go home and stop crying about it.”
Well, NASCAR certainly could’ve handled this situation better. But fans were quick to highlight that he had not received written assurances from anyone at NASCAR. All he had was a bunch of phone calls congratulating him for attempting the Daytona 500. Reminding the veteran driver about the same, a fan wrote, “I’m already sick of hearing about this. No one promised him anything. As evidenced by the message he posted and the interview he gave on channel 90. Could nascar have handled it better ? That goes without saying. He’s not even in the same stratosphere as Helio.”
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
Wallace was a good race car driver, but as far as recent history goes, he stands out as an odd one among the current Daytona 500 entries. Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, and Helio Castroneves— have driven multiple races in the last 5 years. Meanwhile, Wallace, who is 65, last competed in a NASCAR race four years ago in 2020. All three of his races were on road courses, and this is where fans couldn’t side with him on his arguments about being hard done by NASCAR. “Let it go old man. Too old. Too inexperienced. Go away.”
Now, there’s got to be more clarity on how NASCAR decides to provide the OEP. By the looks of it, for the time being, it is only reserved for non-NASCAR racers. While Castroneves caught a lucky break this time around, he is giving it his all to prepare himself for the big race. The Brazilian is scheduled to race in the ARCA Series, and this OEP looked like a done deal for quite some time. Reacting to Wallace’s argument over Castroneves, this race fan added, “He’s only allowed because he’s running arca, nascar would of approved you too if you did the same…”
Kenny Wallace explained it better on how his brother was a little late in announcing his plans. He even detailed that he failed to take NASCAR officials into confidence and should’ve asked to run some tests with them before filing his request. Well, NASCAR’s got to do a better job dealing with such situations; there’s no denying that. But there were no ill feelings or personal vendettas involved in their decision; at least this is what this race fan felt. “I don’t like how it was handled, though I ultimately would agree with NASCAR’s reasoning.”
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
Where do you stand on this controversial ruling by NASCAR? Share your thoughts on opinion in the comments below.