Wallace looks ahead to full-time Winston Cup ride

CONCORD, N.C. -- Of late, Kenny Wallace’s role in the Winston Cup Series could be likened to that of the backup quarterback.

Hang out until summoned. Get in. Perform. No excuses.

And while Wallace has proven his mettle in that role, he doesn’t cherish it. In fact, his worst nightmare is to be labeled “substitute driver.”

“It’s an okay role to have, but I don’t want it to last too long,” said Wallace, kicked back in his transporter last weekend at Richmond International Raceway. “It can stick. You can get lost in the funk.”

These days, when teams are in a funk -- say a driver gets injured or parked -- they call Wallace. With quick laps and even quicker wit, he helps remedy their despondency.

This is not a role many guys flourish in.

	Kenny Wallace Credit: ASP

“It’s a two-edged sword, no doubt,” said Stacy Compton, driver of the No. 14 Conseco Pontiac. “It can save your career, but there’s an awful lot of pressure that comes with it, too. You’re jumping in a car that people expect to run good."

Wallace manned one such car -- the No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet -- for 16 races while Steve Park recovered from a concussion sustained in last fall’s Busch Series race at Darlington Raceway. During that time, he posted one top-five -- a runner-up effort at Rockingham after earning the Bud Pole -- and two top-10s. Not bad, but not good enough.

“I guess the only thing that bothers me in the whole substitution role is that people are giving me one chance and expecting me to win,” Wallace said. “I drove the Pennzoil car (16) times and everybody’s like, ‘well you didn’t win.’ It took Steve Park three years to win!”

When Park returned to Winston Cup competition at Darlington, Wallace was back on the Winston Cup shelf. Then, NASCAR parked Kevin Harvick at Martinsville. Immediately after hearing Harvick’s fate, Richard Childress was on the phone.

“The wildest time I ever had was when Kevin Harvick got parked for that race in Martinsville,” laughed Wallace. “I never even got in the thing. My first lap was when they dropped the green flag. Actually, I rise to those occasions because it’s pretty cool. It’s really different.

“And like I say, it’s an okay role to have for a little bit, but I don’t want it to last too long. I don’t want people to think I’m a substitution driver. It just so happens that I signed up with DEI for a year and Steve’s back. And any time somebody needs me in Winston Cup, I’m around.”

Wallace plans to be around next year on a full time basis. Opportunity is knocking.

“That opportunity is going to happen. I will be in Winston Cup next year,” he said.

Though Wallace doesn’t relish his current role, he knows it saved his career. He’d never been in a quality ride, so folks assumed he was a mediocre talent at best.

“It’s amazing what a guy can do with a car that’s worth a damn,” Wallace said. “I don’t know what anybody else thinks about my driving ability, but this is the way I feel. I say, ‘okay Kenny, what Winston Cup rides have you had?’

“The Dirt Devil team that’s defunct. Filmar Racing. Defunct. Then Andy Petree and Eel River Racing. Now you tell me one (person) that would put themselves in that position and become a superstar.”

Like Wallace, Compton is another driver who has experienced the perils that coincide with an underfunded Winston Cup operation. Compton drove for Melling Racing as a rookie, and now drives for another single-car operation, A.J. Foyt Racing.

“Kenny had a heck of an opportunity to get in that (DEI) car,” Compton said. “I hate how it happened, or course, but it’s a great opportunity for him. A lot of times if you’ve not been in the best of deals, and can step into a car like that, it can rejuvenate your career, can make people take a look and say, ‘hey, this guy can drive.’”

Wallace knows that all too well.

“If it weren’t for my opportunities with DEI, I don’t really know where I’d be right now,” he said. Had I not gotten that opportunity at DEI, I’d have gotten lost. Thank God I got it. That was real good medicine for me. I learned a lot about myself. I learned I could run with the Jeff Gordons and Dale Jarretts.”

Two weeks ago at Talladega, Wallace hopped in a car prepared for him by DEI teammate Michael Waltrip and drove to a fifth-place finish -- just behind Gordon and just ahead of Jarrett. However, NASCAR docked him for driving below the yellow line. Hence, he ranked 21st in the final running order.

Now he waits again. Luckily for him, he has a full-time ride in the NASCAR Busch Series. Without that, he admittedly would be far less accepting of the substitution role. And while his Busch Series ride is therapeutic, he doesn’t want to keep it forever.

“Very honestly, I do not want to run the Busch Series the rest of my career, although I will if I have to,” Wallace said. “The reason I don’t want to run the Busch Series the rest of my life is this: there’s too many drivers that have run okay in Busch and went to Winston Cup and performed better.

“I’m a man on a mission. My goals are high. Not just that, I’m a hyper personality that likes competition. I want to perform at my highest level. For example, I could win three Busch races in a row and nobody cares.

“That’s one thing that bothers me about the Busch Series. You can win a whole bunch in the Busch Series and it doesn’t matter to anybody. That’s why I want to be in Cup. When you win, it matters.”

That elusive Winston Cup win haunts Wallace. He’s accomplished everything he ever set out to do, minus a trip to Victory Lane at NASCAR’s elite echelon.

“I have read a lot of articles where people try to put my career puzzle together like it’s some kind of tragedy. It’s not like that at all,” Wallace said. “All us drivers have gone through good and bad. I’ve had a great career. There is one void left, though. I want to win a Winston Cup race.

“All in all, there's no tragedy. I just want to drive for a solid team that is totally committed. I’m looking forward to doing that next year.”

For now, he’ll stand on the sidelines and wait for a chance to play. When the time comes, he’ll put a team on his shoulders and lift them from whatever predicament ails them.

“I never thought I’d be in this situation, where I’m considered a super sub,” Wallace said. “But hell, it’s better’n being unemployed, ain’t it?”