Rusty Wallace

Rusty Wallace
Rusty Wallace
	Wallace in 1997
Born	Russell William Wallace Jr.; August 14, 1956; Arnold, Missouri, U.S.
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; 1996 NASCAR Thunder Special Suzuka Winner; 1982 Winchester 400 Winner; 1985 All American 400 Winner; Led Winston Cup Series in wins (1988, 1989, 1993, 1994); Led Winston Cup Series in poles (2000); 1988 Final Winner at Riverside International Raceway; 1993 Inaugural Winner at New Hampshire Motor Speedway; 9 wins at Bristol Motor Speedway (including record 6 Food City 500 wins and a sweep in 2000); 7 wins at Martinsville Speedway (including record 4 consecutive Spring race wins from 1993 to 1996 and a sweep in 1994); 6 wins at Richmond International Raceway (all time record on current .75 mile configuration); All time lap leader in modern era at Bristol Motor Speedway; All time lap leader in modern era at Richmond International Raceway (all time lap leader on current .75 mile configuration); All time winner for Pontiac (31 victories) in NASCAR history;
Awards	NASCAR Hall of Fame (2013); International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2013); National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (2010); Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2014); Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (1998); Named a Missouri Sports Legend by the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (2006); St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame (2011); NMPA Myers Brothers Award winner (2005); 2× 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); AARWBA All-American Teams 1988, 1989, 1993; 1984 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year; 1980 USAC Tony Bettenhausen Memorial Trophy; 1979 USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year; 1973 Central Racing Association Rookie of the Year; Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023); 2023 Buddy Shuman Award recipient;
NASCAR Cup Series career
	706 races run over 25 years
2005 position	8th
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)
NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series career
	42 races run over 9 years
2005 position	61st
Best finish	32nd (1987)
First race	1985 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last race	2005 O'Reilly Challenge (Texas)
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
	1 race run over 1 year
1996 position	92nd
Best finish	92nd (1996)
First race	1996 DeVilbiss Superfinish 200 (Nazareth)
	Statistics up to date as of December 21, 2012.

Russell William Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and team owner, who raced from 1980 to 2005 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably driving the No. 2 nicknamed "Midnight" for Penske Racing.

Prior to stock car racing, Wallace had an extremely successful career in short track and late model racing, winning over 200 races and two track championships in Florida.

Wallace won the American Speed Association championship in 1983 before joining the NASCAR Cup series full time in 1984 where he won Rookie of the Year and the later won the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship and the International Race of Champions in 1991. Wallace won the 1990 Coca-Cola 600 and claimed 55 total wins throughout his NASCAR career. He is often considered among the best short track drivers in NASCAR history with 25 of his 55 career victories coming at short tracks. He won a career best nine races at Bristol Motor Speedway. Wallace also won an additional three exhibition (non-points) races in his career, including the 1989 Winston All-Star Race and the inaugural NASCAR race in Japan at Suzuka Circuit.

For the accolades over the course of his successful career, Wallace has been inducted into the three main motorsports halls of fame including the NASCAR Hall of Fame (2013), the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2013), the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2014) and additionally the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (2010). He was named as one of the NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers class in 1998, and one of 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.

Since retirement, Wallace has transitioned into a commentator role for NASCAR events; he also designed Iowa Speedway and operated his own racing team called Rusty Wallace Racing.