Rusty Wallace
| Rusty Wallace | |||||||
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Rusty Wallace in 1997.
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| Born | Russell William Wallace, Jr. August 14, 1956 Arnold, Missouri, U.S. |
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| Achievements |
1989 Winston Cup Series Champion 1991 IROC Champion 1983 ASA Champion 1990 Coca-Cola 600 Winner 1989 The Winston Winner 1998 Bud Shootout Winner |
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| Awards |
NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee (2013) International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee (2013) National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame inductee (2010) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductee (2014) Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee (1998) Named a Missouri Sports Legend by the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (2006) St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame inductee (2011) NMPA Myers Brothers Award winner (2005) Two-time NMPA Richard Petty Driver of the Year (1988, 1993) NASCAR Illustrated Person of the Year (2005) North Carolina's Order of the Long Leaf Pine (2005) Delaware's Order of the First State (2005) Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) 1984 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year 1979 USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year |
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| Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 706 races run over 25 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 1st (1989) | ||||||
| First race | 1980 Atlanta 500 (Atlanta) | ||||||
| Last race | 2005 Ford 400 (Homestead) | ||||||
| First win | 1986 Valleydale 500 (Bristol) | ||||||
| Last win | 2004 Advance Auto Parts 500 (Martinsville) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 42 races run over 9 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 32nd (1987) | ||||||
| First race | 1985 Goody's 300 (Daytona) | ||||||
| Last race | 2005 O'Reilly Challenge (Texas) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career | |||||||
| 1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
| Best finish | 92nd (1996) | ||||||
| First race | 1996 DeVilbiss Superfinish 200 (Nazareth) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of December 21, 2012. | |||||||
Russell William "Rusty" Wallace, Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is a retired American racing driver, and a former NASCAR Winston Cup Champion. Considered one of racing's most well-known and charismatic personalities, he is a member of four of stock car racing's major halls of fame: the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (2010), the NASCAR Hall of Fame (2013), the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2013), the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2014) and the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (2010). He also served as the 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year and the 1989 Winston Cup champion.
Prior to joining the NASCAR circuit, Wallace made a name for himself racing around in Florida, by the late 1970s by winning a pair of local track championships. Wallace, a Missouri native, won more than 200 short track races. In 1979 he won United States Auto Club's (USAC) Rookie of the Year honors, finishing third in points behind A. J. Foyt and Bay Darnell. He finished second USAC Stock Cars in 1981 behind Joe Ruttman.
In 1983 he won the American Speed Association (ASA) championship while competing against some of NASCAR's future stars like Mark Martin, 1992 NASCAR Champion Alan Kulwicki and Dick Trickle.
Wallace finished second in his first NASCAR race in the 1980 Atlanta 500, in which he started 7th, driving for Roger Penske in the No. 16. He made 9 further NASCAR appearances over the next 3 years, although he did not score any further Top 10 finishes until he went full-time in 1984. He joined the Winston Cup circuit full-time that year, winning NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors and finishing 14th in the final points standings. He drove the No. 88 Gatorade-sponsored Pontiac for Cliff Stewart with the best finish of 4th in 30 races, along with two 5th-place finished and four further Top 10's. Wallace stayed with Cliff Stewart for 1985 but this time, he drove the No. 2 Valugard Pontiac. In 29 races, Wallace had two Top 5s and eight Top 10s.
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