Kenny Wallace never reached victory lane himself in NASCAR’s top tier. However, one of the highlights of his Cup Series career came via his aid to Dale Earnhardt. The late driver, often regarded as the most influential figure to come out of the sport, won his last-ever race courtesy of the now 61-year-old. Wallace, who stays in touch with the NASCAR world via his podcasting efforts recently reminisced on the same.
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Replying to a fan’s question on X (formerly Twitter), the Xfinity Series race winner touched on the importance of winning a Cup Series race in his career. Despite it not materializing, he felt honored to have helped Earnhardt during one of his actual chances to taste victory.
“I never won a cup race. So yes, it would’ve been a big deal for my goals. However, I am honored to help Dale Senior win the last race of his life,” he wrote.
Vying for his tenth victory at Talladega Superspeedway in the year 2000, Earnhardt found himself buried deep in the pack in P18 with four laps to go. However, Wallace’s efforts in bump drafting Earnhardt to the front in what was a display of peak restrictor plate racing saw the duo get to the front on the final lap.
As Mike Skinner led the field followed by none other than Earnhardt’s son behind him, Wallace gave the senior Earnhardt a push for all his might as others faltered, handing the late legend his final victory in the sport before his eventual demise in 2001. “I don’t think we could have got back up there without Kenny,” said Earnhardt in victory lane, crediting his fellow competitor.
“Here I am trying to win the race, he comes down in front of me and I’m thinking, ‘My God, I’ve got no choice now but to help this guy win,'” exclaimed Wallace at the time, oblivious to the gravity of what he had just accomplished.
More than 24 years later, the now-retired Wallace has seemingly come to terms with what he achieved with Earnhardt in the past. The incident is one of the highlights of his rather under-the-radar career in the sport’s highest echelon.
With the events that transpired at Daytona in 2001, Wallace winning the race for himself would not have left such a lasting impact on himself and the fans of the sport, or so we think.
