FANTASY NASCAR Racin

is a retired NASCAR race car driver, a former NASCAR Cup Champion and the Lead Studio Analyst for Auto Racing at ABC and ESPN. Considered one of racing's most well-known and charismatic personalities, he is a member of all three of stock car racing's major halls of fame: the NASCAR Hall of Fame (inducted 2013), the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2013) and the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (2010). Wallace finished second in his first NASCAR race at Atlanta 500 in 1980, having started 7th, driving for Roger Penske in the #16. He made nine further NASCAR appearances over the next three years, although he did not score any further top 10 finishes until he went full-time in 1984. Wallace joined the Cup circuit full-time in 1984, winning NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors and finishing 14th in the final points standings. He raced in the #88 Gatorade Pontiac for Cliff Stewart with the best finish of fourth in 30 races. Wallace stayed with Cliff Stewart for 1985, but this time in the #2 Alugard Pontiac. In 29 races, Wallace had two Top 5s and eight Top 10s. For 1986 he switched teams to the #27 Alugard Pontiac for Raymond Beadle's Blue Max Racing team.

Rusty's first win came on April 6, 1986, at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also won at Martinsville on September 21. He finished the year with two wins, four top 5's and 16 top 10's in 29 races. Wallace developed his career further in 1988, scoring six victories including four of the final five races of the year. His wins came at Michigan, Charlotte, North Wilkesboro, Rockingham, the final race ever at Riverside, and the season finale at Atlanta. In 1989, Wallace won the NASCAR Cup Championship, with crew chief Barry Dodson, by finishing 15th at the Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, to beating out close friend and fierce rival Dale Earnhardt who won the

race, by twelve points. In 1990, Raymond Beadle switched sponsors, to Miller Genuine Draft. The four-year sponsorship deal was specifically tied to Wallace, meaning it went where the 1989 champ went. In 1991 Wallace took the Miller sponsorship with him to Penske Racing, and he continued in the #2 Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac. He also won the 1991 IROC championship. While 1992 only carried him one win, the win at the Miller 400 was satisfying; it was the first win for Rusty in a car which arguably was Rusty's best known chassis for his career one affectionately known as "Midnight". 1993 was arguably his most successful season despite two major accidents at

Daytona and Talladega in which his car went airborne and flipped several times. He had already won the second race of the season Feb 28th 1993 at North Carolina Motor Speedway but also a sad one as his friend and reigning NASCAR Champion Alan Kulwicki was killed flying into Bristol Speedway in April 1993, because of this Rusty won the race at Bristol and in respect to Alan Kulwicki he did a "Polish victory lap"—turning his car around and driving around the track the wrong way, as made famous by Kulwicki. Every race Rusty won that year he did a "Kulwicki victory lap". He won all 3 races in April. In 1993, he won 10 of the 30 races but finished second in points. Penske

switched to Fords in 1994. In 1996, sponsorship changed from Miller Genuine Draft to Miller beer sponsorship. In 1997, Miller changed the teams sponsorship to Miller Lite, replacing the black and gold with a blue and white scheme. In 1998, Wallace won the Bud Shootout at Daytona, the first win for Ford's new Taurus, and Wallace's only victory at NASCAR's premier track in a CUP car. In 2000 he secured his 50th career win at Bristol. He also won at Michigan, Pocono, and the night race at Bristol. The next year he won at California for his 54th career win. He won on what would have been Dale Earnhardt's 50th Birthday and paid tribute to him with an Earnhardt flag. In

2003, Penske Racing switched to Dodge, and appropriately, in 2004, Wallace won his 55th, (and final), race on a short track. On August 30, 2004 Wallace announced that the 2005 NASCAR Sprint Cup season would be his last as a full-time driver. Kurt Busch would replace Wallace in the number 2 Miller Lite Dodge in 2006–2010. In 2012 Brad Keselowski drove the Blue Deuce to the CUP Championship driving for Penske. To date, Wallace has had 55 NASCAR Cup wins, which is tied for ninth on NASCAR all-time wins list. They include victories at Charlotte as well as the series' last three road courses (Riverside, Infineon and Watkins Glen), but none at Daytona, Darlington, Indianapolis or Talladega. Rusty Wallace is known for being involved in several severe wrecks throughout his racing career. The first one happened in 1983, when Wallace was attempting the Daytona 500 through the Gatorade Twin 125's. He was tapped by Rick Wilson, got airborne, and went on a spectacular series of flips that left him hospitalized. His next flip came at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1988. Its beginning was unclear, but Wallace somehow managed to climb the wall and did a barrel roll. ESPN commentator Dr. Jerry Punch was the first responder,

and possibly saved his life. In 1993, Rusty had two massive flips – both at plate tracks. The first was at the 1993 Daytona 500, where he was tapped by the crashing cars of Michael Waltrip and Derrike Cope, and barrel rolled down the back straightaway several feet in the air. Just 2 months later at Talladega, racing to the checkered flag, Rusty was tagged from behind by Dale Earnhardt, turned backwards, and flew into the air before violently flipping in the grass past the start-finish line, breaking a wrist. Earnhardt was visibly shaken by the incident and did make sure Wallace was okay by checking on him after the race had concluded. On January 25, 2006, it was announced that Rusty would cover auto racing events for ESPN and ABC. He joined the

NASCAR broadcasting team for both networks when they started coverage of the sport in 2007. Up until 2012, Wallace owned and operated Rusty Wallace Racing, which fielded the #62 Pilot Flying J Toyota Camry driven by Michael Annett and the #66 5 Hour Energy Toyota Camry driven by his son Steven Wallace. This operation has been temporarily suspended due to the loss of sponsorship. In late 2005, Wallace broke ground on his "Signature Design Speedway" in Newton, Iowa. The Iowa Speedway had its first race on September 15, 2006 and hosted many races in 2007 including an IndyCar race. The track is noted for its structural similarity to Richmond International Raceway, where Wallace has won six times. The Iowa Speedway hosted its first NASCAR Xfinity Series race in 2009.

Fantasy NASCAR Racing

RUSSELL WILLIAM "RUSTY" WALLACE - 08/14/1956