“I Wanted to Be Jeff Gordon” – Kenny Wallace Makes a Candid Admission on His “Crushed” NASCAR Dreams

Recently, former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace sat down with The Athletic for a conversation. Over here, he answered a fair number of questions, one of which was a bit of sage advice. The 58-year-old spoke about what advice he would give to a driver having a hard time moving on from a mistake. Rather interestingly, he name-dropped former Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon as an inspiration.

Wallace said, “I just dealt with that with a close friend. I told him, “Listen, get in your car, roll the windows down, turn the music up. Do the speed limit. Just smile, man.” You know, I’ve lived by this. Listen, my NASCAR career did not go anywhere near the way I wanted. And I’ve been very open about it. I wanted to be Jeff Gordon. I wanted to be him. I’ve talked to him about it and he’s been very good to me about it. But Jeff crushed a lot of dreams in my era.”

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What else did former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace say?

According to him, there will be tough times, but they will not last long. In fact, it is only tough drivers who really excel in the long run. Furthermore, it is up to the drivers to change themselves before experiencing a change in their lives. Wallace admitted that that piece of advice has stayed with him through most of his life.

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During his NASCAR heyday, he racked up nine wins in the Xfinity Series between 1991 and 2001. In his debut year, he stormed to 2nd place in the championship, losing only to Bobby Labonte. Sadly, Wallace has not managed to find much success in the Cup Series. However, he has come close to winning on many occasions. In his career, he finished 2nd in three races, at New Hampshire, Talladega, and at the Rockingham Speedway.