Race Rock - Rusty Wallace

Rusty Wallace

Rusty Wallace knew what he wanted to do when he grew up. Watching his father Russ win Midwest stock car races, the St. Louis youngster saw his future with a helmet and driving suit. From his initial race in 1973 at Lakehill Speedway near St. Louis, Wallace has shown the ultimate determination and drive to excel from a short track upstart to a NASCAR Winston Cup superstar.

Wallace's two decades of competition have propelled the oldest of the three racing brothers from local and regional championships to the 1989 Winston Cup title and one of the nation's biggest racing personalities. Wallace, 41, has posted more victories in the past three seasons than any Winston Cup driver.

Since winning the "Rookie of the Year" title in 1984, Wallace has scored top five finishes in the final Winston Cup standings on four occasions and placed runner-up to Bill Elliott in 1988 and Dale Earnhardt in 1993.

Wallace began his full-time NASCAR Winston Cup career with Cliff Stewart Racing and moved to the Blue Max team in 1986 when he captured his first Winston Cup race at Bristol. After five years with Raymond Beadle and the Blue Max squad, Wallace teamed up with Roger Penske and Don Miller to form Penske Racing South in 1991.

Wallace garnered 47 career Winston Cup wins and has produced an incredible record that has seen him win 12 percent of his 393 races, finish in the top-five 34 percent of the time and finish among the top-ten an amazing 53 percent of the time. He saw a streak of 36 straight short-track races without an DNF, dating to April 1992 at Martinsville, come to an end when he exited the September 1996 race at Martinsville with engine problems.

Wallace's many other accomplishments include USAC and Winston "Rookie of the Year" awards, an American Speed Association (ASA) championship and an International Race of Champions (IROC) title. He ranks fourth on the all-time NASCAR winnings list and has scored 17 pole positions. He also won the Winston "All-Star" race in 1989 and was named the NMPA Driver of the Year in 1988 and 1993.

Wallace, an avid pilot, has owned a dozen airplanes throughout his racing career and currently owns and pilots a King Air. Wallace's business holdings have expanded from racing (he currently owns 28% of Penske Racing South, Inc.) to include automobile dealerships and manufacturing companies. Rusty and his wife, Patti, live in Concord, NC, with children Greg, Katie and Stephen.

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