Mike Wallace is on the verge of creating history. The veteran driver is aiming to become the second-oldest racer to compete in the Daytona 500 when the NASCAR Cup Series resumes in February. The 65-year-old will be representing MBM Motorsports, a team that last competed in the crown jewel race in 2020, after failing to qualify in 2021 and 2022. The season-opener will feature 40 cars, including four ‘open’ category vehicles and Missouri native will be hoping to make the cut.

Revealing the reasons behind his sabbatical from the sport, Wallace is looking forward to his upcoming Daytona International Speedway adventure. Will the veteran manage to turn back the clock at the 2.5-mile track?

Mike Wallace is confident about returning to NASCAR

Few NASCAR races are as iconic as the Daytona 500. The season-opener is what sets the tone for the entire campaign, and the prestige surrounding the fixture makes it a coveted race for full and part-time drivers. Mike Wallace is optimistic about qualifying for the 200-lap event despite his last appearance in the race coming almost a decade ago. However, the veteran driver has tons of experience, having made 197 Cup Series appearances as well as 497 Xfinity starts. He has also tasted victory at Daytona International Speedway before, during the 2000 Truck Series race as well as in NASCAR’s second tier in 2004.

Sharing his thoughts about making an appearance in the Daytona 500, Mike Wallace said in Episode #87 of ‘Kenny Conversation’, “This opportunity came up and I wasn’t done racing when I kind of, you know, people say ‘Oh you quit’ and I said, ‘I don’t know if I quit’. I just stepped back from it. That’s it. I’m ready to get pumped up, I’m motivated for 2025. It’s a new part of life for me totally. What better way to start it than the place I love to race at. I think I still have the capabilities.”

However, Wallace has an uphill task at hand. Having been away from the Cup Series for a decade, it remains to be seen if the 65-year-old will be able to adapt to the Next-Gen car. The stakes are high at the Daytona 500, with drivers desperate to not just get the bragging rights, but potentially secure a coveted playoff spot in the very first race of the season. Will the veteran driver manage to adapt and cope with the demands of a season-opening superspeedway race? Time will tell.

The veteran doesn’t seem intimidated by the task at hand, as he excitedly said, “I just can’t wait to work with Carl again in the first laps of practice at the World Center of Speed, Daytona International Speedway.” While he may not have competed at the highest level for a while, Mike Wallace’s last Xfinity Series appearance came in 2020, where he finished no higher than 24th despite competing in three races. The challenge will be bigger this time around, as he will need to qualify for the Daytona 500 first before being allowed to race at NASCAR’s highest level.

MGM Motorsports’ Carl Long shares his thoughts on Wallace’s return

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Mike Wallace’s NASCAR return is understandable. The veteran driver was forced to take a sabbatical from the sport to help his ailing wife, who passed away early last year. Since then, the 65-year-old has been dealing with loneliness, so it should come as no surprise that he’s looking forward to that rush of adrenaline by competing on the racetrack once again. When the opportunity came up to compete at the Daytona 500, the Missouri native grabbed it with both hands, a decision neither the driver nor MGM Motorsports regrets.

Carl Long, who helps operate the racing team alongside co-owners Tom Smith, John Jackson, and Rocky said, “I watched Mike have a lot of success at superspeedways. I brought him into the JGL Racing Xfinity Series team I helped to build, where we worked together as teammates. As a driver, I know Daytona requires a great amount of mental skill to succeed. Mike has always been one of the best plate racers, and the skill set he brings makes him the best choice among drivers to be able to race our way into the Daytona 500.”

Mike Wallace also has sponsorships to help make his dream a reality. Coble Enterprises, which specializes in personalized property management for residential and commercial properties has signed up to become an associate sponsor of the No. 66 Ford Mustang car. With everything seemingly in place, all the veteran racer needs to do is qualify for the Daytona 500 so that he can go wheel-to-wheel with NASCAR’s heavyweights once again. While the legacy he leaves behind is already etched in the sport’s history books, a final NASCAR adventure might be exactly what he needs at the grandest stage of them all.