Mike, Chrissy Wallace set to make history

Wallace was the first female to win a Bandelero race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the first to win in a Legends car at Friendship Speedway in Elkin, N.C., and the first to win a Late Model race at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway in 2007. She finished second in the Pro Challenge Cars track championship at Hickory and has over 50 feature wins in Legends cars. She has 22 wins at Concord (N.C.) Motorsports Park in Legends and Bandelero cars. In 2006, she won seven out of the 10 Arena races in which she competed. Then, in 2008, her career took the next logical step. She competed in a pair of ARCA races. And she competed in six Truck races. She made her series debut at Martinsville Speedway, driving for Germain Racing. At the time, her uncle Kenny talked about the thrill of seeing her name on the entry list — and offered some sage advice. "The one thing about us Wallaces is we're very realistic people. We tend to ... tell her the way it is really going to be," said Kenny, who will be her spotter this weekend. "We don't paint a pretty picture for her." Since then, Chrissy and her dad have been forced to be patient as they tried to push her career further. She turned down a full softball scholarship to play catcher at Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, N.C. — and has since been waiting on that elusive full-time opportunity. She has shown her talent in the handful of races she has run, earning respectable top-20 finishes in three of her six races last year and finishing ninth in her second ARCA outing. What has this time been like for her? "Well, you know, I think I have got a little frustrated, and Dad could definitely agree with me that I've gotten frustrated. I think I've been more frustrated at myself that I haven't been in a car than anything," she says. "It is upsetting to go to a race track and see somebody else running the truck you were supposed to run or running the series you were supposed to run and knowing you were supposed to be there. But if I get my hopes all the way down, then I know it's going to be hard to build them back up. So I've had to keep some self esteem up knowing that there could always be another chance. "I think what's a big deal is having Rick Ware come on board with me, prove to me that I can get back into it, and I should never get down on myself whatsoever about racing because there will always — I shouldn't say always, but hopefully there will always be another chance." She's caught in that place where a lot of young drivers are, trying to gain sponsorship for a chance to race full time. Now, she plans to study and learn as she prepares for the actual race this weekend. And she'll lean on her dad to help her pick up the nuances of the track. They've only competed against one another once — in a Legends race. This is obviously an experience that will be a career highlight for both of them. "Racing against my dad, it's something that we've always wanted to do," she says. "It's something that means a lot to me, and I think it's a good thing for me and him both, and, hopefully, I'll wind up beating him." He seems as thrilled by the opportunity as anyone. Talladega is a track that requires constant concentration and attention to detail. It can be an exasperating, maddening, tense experience. Throw in racing against one's daughter, or father for that matter, and it can become even more tense. Certainly, there will be some nerves among Wallace family members before the race begins. But Chrissy feels fortunate that she'll have input from her family and all the experience that they bring. "Right now going to Talladega, I have to rely on my dad," she says. "He has gone there and won multiple times (at) Daytona and Talladega, so he knows the tracks there very well. So for me to go out there and run really good, I'm going to have to go practice behind him or talk to him every day before the race, practice, and get to learn different things along the way. "So my big person I rely on is going to be my dad. But when the race comes, I'm going to have to rely on Kenny for giving me the help when he's spotting." And her dad? Mike Wallace says he plans to be aware of Chrissy and where she is on the track throughout the race — and to do whatever he can to make for a smooth racing weekend for her. "I will always keep an eye out throughout the whole race to check and make sure where Chrissy is at, and if she can help me in any way keep us to the front or get us to the front, and if I can help push her, and when I say help her, I mean through the drafting side of things, I'll be there to assist her," he says.

Rea White is a writer for NASCAR Scene, which is published weekly, 46 weeks per year. Visit www.scenedaily.com for more information.