Kenny Wallace has once again lined up behind Mark Martin, backing the veteran’s call for a fundamental shift in how NASCAR tells its stories. When the sport revealed its revised championship format, Martin used the moment to argue that the sport’s current biggest problem is not rules or points but narrative. Wallace has now echoed his concerns.
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Martin maintained that broadcasters and journalists have become consumed by cut lines, elimination math, and weekly scenarios, while neglecting the most essential element of all — the drivers. Wallace has now made a strong case that NASCAR cannot rebuild its cultural pull unless the spotlight returns to the drivers and the teams.
Revisiting Martin’s comments, Wallace explained that the longtime driver had simply grown weary of hearing race broadcasts dominated by playoff math. In his view, the problem was that while cars battled for position on track, television coverage drifted into constant explanations of points movement and cutoff projections.
The result was that drivers themselves faded into the background, names went unspoken, and personalities went unexplored. The race ended, yet the competitors remained anonymous.
For Wallace, that imbalance has stalled NASCAR’s ability to create recognizable stars. “I agree with Mark… One of the reasons we’re having such a hard time making our NASCAR drivers famous is because the announcers never say their names,” he said on Coffee with Kenny (posted on X).
“They’re too busy talking about the cut-off, the playoff. As the points run out, you never say the drivers’ names. And if you do, you don’t promote them.”
With the new format in place, Wallace believes the door has finally opened to reset that approach. “So now, we’re gonna talk about the drivers. We’re going to make these drivers famous again. And I thought that was a good point made by Mark the Kid Martin,” he added, emphasizing that the solution lies in storytelling rather than statistics alone.
“Coffee with Kenny”@NASCAR is SO BACK.
That @TonyStewart is back in @NASCAR pic.twitter.com/0kwocP9FCW— Kenny Wallace (@Kenny_Wallace) January 13, 2026
Wallace backed up his argument with a firsthand example that caught him off guard. After Daytona 500 winner William Byron appeared on Wallace’s Kenny Conversation, the veteran Xfinity driver expected the interview to explode in viewership. A Daytona 500 champion, after all, should command attention. Instead, the episode struggled to reach 25,000 views. The numbers puzzled him until a later comparison clarified the issue.
While traveling to Iowa, Wallace interviewed Taylor Cool, a young IMCA dirt-track racer. That conversation surged to roughly 60,000 views, more than double Byron’s total. The contrast was jarring. In Wallace’s eyes, it revealed how far NASCAR’s hero culture had slipped.
A Daytona 500 winner failed to resonate with the broader audience, while a grassroots racer generated more interest. That imbalance did not reflect talent or accomplishment but exposure and storytelling.
NASCAR once thrived on the names of renowned personalities. During eras represented by Cale Yarborough, Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty, and Dale Earnhardt, fans came to the tracks expecting to see those stars win or to watch someone rise to challenge them. And that’s because back then the narrative revolved around people, not spreadsheets.
With NASCAR now adopting a format that rewards speed and consistency across a season, the media has a renewed opportunity. If coverage pivots from constant calculation to character-driven storytelling, the sport can rebuild the connection that once made its heroes household names.
