The Intimidator’s rivalry with his ol’ pal Rubberhead has been well-documented as one of the greatest in NASCAR history. Together they have combined to give fans decades of duels and excitements to re-watch and cherish.

But off the track, Dale Earnhardt & Rusty Wallace shared quite an interesting friendship. The kind that would make a man give the other’s younger brother his big break in a NASCAR Busch Series race. Kenny Wallace would know how that feels. After all, he was the brother who got that lucky start under a certain Dale Earnhardt’s DEI banner. But if that’s not surprising, his elder sibling Rusty was the one who initially joined forces with big Dale to prep Kenny for his grand full-time NASCAR entrance. The advantage? Co-spotting for Kenny Wallace’s #8 car that day at Martinsville were the Man in Black & his big brother Rusty.

The Day the Intimidator became a mentor to Kenny Wallace, courtesy of Rusty

Kenny Wallace may not have the shimmering accolades like Rusty. However, the Busch Series was where he statistically eclipsed his elder brother in NASCAR. Kenny has 9 wins and 173 top-tens in the second tier compared to Rusty’s zero wins and 18 top-ten finishes. He was also a three-time Most Popular Driver in the Busch Series. His brother never won a popularity award at any level in a National NASCAR competition. To make up for his lack of accomplishments under these circumstances favoring Kenny, Rusty won 55 races in the Winston Cup Series. He then won the very Winston Cup in 1989 and was nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2013.

Quite evidently, Rusty had the better career between the two brothers. But Kenny was no pushover either. Some would be surprised to know that long before Kenny got familiar with NASCAR as a full-time driver, he was a mechanic and crew chief working Joe Ruttman’s #98 cars during his best years at Benefield Racing during the early ’80s. But the call of a steering wheel was louder than that of a certain seat atop a pit box. Soon he started cutting his teeth in the American Speed Association (ASA), chasing his dreams of becoming a full-time NASCAR driver. But how did he even get the chance to make a debut at the World Center of Racing on a permanent contract?

According to Kenny himself in a recent video address on his socials, “Dale Earnhardt Sr has everything to do with it.” He began his story: “So I was running ASA, the American Speed Association in 1988, 87, 88 and I got a call from my brother Rusty. And it really just went like this: ‘Herman, You helped me my whole life make it to NASCAR, and now I want to help you.’ That’s pretty big you know? My brother Rusty. I’ve made it famous. I love my brother Rusty. My wife, and my children, I tell them all the time. Always be good to Uncle Rusty. We owe him our life.” 

But how did Kenny’s elder brother intend to help him make it to NASCAR? Kenny elaborated, “So Rusty decides he’s going to start me an Xfinity team, and we had sponsorship. Cox Treated Lumber, out of Orangeburg, South Carolina. But NASCAR would not let anybody just show up to Daytona at the start of the year and start the race.” And what did they do about it? Rusty formed a one-race alliance with his rival Dale Earnhardt to put his brother in the infamous #8 DEI Busch car. The primary objective of this run at Martinsville was to show NASCAR that they had a coherent driver with decent potential.

“Now Earnhardt always liked me ‘cause Dale Sr raced Me in St Paul, Minnesota in the ASA race,” continued Kenny. The duo competed against each other in the St. Paul ASA race only once in 1988. Kenny placed 7th in this race while Earnhardt ended his race early citing engine problems. He mentioned that Earnhardt apparently “got a big kick out of it” because he remembered Rusty’s brother as a former Winston Cup crew chief. 

Kenny then recalled his heartwarming journey and a memorable anecdote from his time spent with the Intimidator. “So November… of ‘88. Rusty and Dale Sr put a deal together, and I go to Martinsville and I drive Dale Earnhardt Sr’s Xfinity car, the number #8. So I was always around Sr. I’ll never forget it. Flew out of St Louis. Had my seat with me. Sent my seat down there. Put my seat, I think I only had one seat. Put that in Earnhardt’s car.” He noted a lesser-known fact about the Earnhardt family, “That was the one down there off you know, in Kannapolis, North Carolina, at his mom, Martha’s House on V8 Road. She lived on a road called V8 Road! A V and an 8. Maybe they did that for Ralph. You know, Earnhardt’s Dad.”

Legend says Ralph Earnhardt’s engine-building prowess was so well-known that Robert Yates, one of the greatest engineering minds in NASCAR, used to worship the Intimidator’s pops growing up as a young kid.

Nevertheless, “So I ended up running Martinsville and I think I ran 12th, maybe something like that, or maybe a little better.” – revealed Kenny who had finished P11. He reflected on the emotions of that momentous occasion, saying, “My very first race. And it was a hell of a time. It was one of the happiest times in my life…” Kenny informed everyone listening that what happened next was NASCAR realized the talent of the youngest Wallace Brother. “They said okay, the kid the kid can drive, he’s a good racer,” explained Kenny. But that wouldn’t be all.

A full-circle investment for Dale Earnhardt

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The Hermanator brought up the irony of it all, as he remembered how Dale Sr & Rusty Wallace joined forces to guide the latter’s younger brother to a decent performance at Martinsville. “And it was funny because Dale Earnhardt Sr and Rusty were both spotting for me that day! Now imagine your very first Xfinity race ever, and you got Dale Earnhardt Sr and Rusty spotting. Earnhardt’s going: ‘Drive the hell out of it Herman, you’re looking good.’ And Rusty’s going: ‘Don’t wreck it. Easy now.’ So I remember we changed the motor the day before because there was a small oil leak. And there’s Earnhardt up in the motor compartment with his cowboy boots, and man, now that I look back at it, what a time that was. I was just too focused, you know, to realize… Earnhardt became a God.” – concluded Kenny, clearly fighting back some heavy emotions.

He grinned with loose recollection, “So anyway, that was… October, November of ’88…” The following year just so happened to be Kenny Wallace’s full-time rookie season in the Busch Series driving for his brother’s race team – Rusty Wallace Racing. He then quite rightfully and proudly boasted, “And can you believe, it’s a Cinderella Story… Kenny Wallace sits on the pole. His first time ever at Daytona. And man, I led the first so many laps, and then it was a V6, but I lost the damn cylinder. Broke a rocker arm, something like that later in the race. But finished 10th in my very first Xfinity race ever at Daytona, in the number #36 green and white Cox Dry Treated Lumber…”

That season Kenny registered 11 more top-10s and four top-5 finishes. He did go winless in 1989, but his first race triumph came two years later in 1991 at Volusia Speedway Park. Kenny drove a #36 Pontiac to victory lane over Tommy Houston & Butch Miller in that race.

“So anyway, those were wonderful times and that’s how I made it to NASCAR. I had to run a race. NASCAR watched me. NASCAR approved me” – declared Kenny Wallace. He finally ended his story with a heartfelt tribute to his brother and his Intimidating rival, coupled with a positive message: “And that was Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt Sr. So thankful to those two. I had the two most famous race car drivers in the world at that time. Yes, the world I mean back in those days, there was nobody. Even in Formula 1. Nobody more famous than Dale Earnhardt Sr and Rusty Wallace.” He concluded to iterate how he would never forget that day at Martinsville. And who could blame him? It wasn’t every day that the Intimidator gave you a NASCAR start in one of his DEI cars.

However, their intricate relationship would come full circle almost a decade later when Kenny pushed Dale Earnhardt and his #3 car to victory lane for The Intimidator’s last time at the 2000 Winston 500 at Talladega. This more recent memory must play vibrantly in the minds of those who witnessed the race firsthand. It is widely considered one of the best finishes by many in the wider NASCAR community.

That said. What is your personal favorite NASCAR finish of all time?