Like Kyle Busch said in an official press release a few days ago: “The Cup season may be over. But the racing season is still in full swing with the biggest events on dirt taking place over the next couple of months.” Indeed, the dirt track racing world is gearing up for a busy schedule in the NASCAR off-season. Rowdy is prepping to make his USAC midget racing debut at the much-anticipated November Classic at Bakersfield Speedway, just a week away. He’ll be going head-to-head with fellow Cup racer Kyle Larson, who’s reconnecting with his dirt racing roots in this quick break away from NASCAR.

 Their appearances certainly bring some much-needed shine to the rough-n-tumble world of grassroots short-track racing. However, Missouri’s own Kenny Wallace, who’s no stranger to getting down and dirty on the local circuits, has a few choice words for the broader racing community. And you can bet he’s ready to stir the pot on topics many racers have been quietly stewing over.

Kenny Wallace’s mic drop: “You have to win to make a dent” in dirt racing

The buzz began when Kenny Wallace dropped a payout chart from the 28th annual Turkey Bowl that lit up Springfield Raceway from Thursday through Saturday. Behind race winner Terry Phillips, who earned the lion’s share of the race purse—a cool amount of $6,064, Kenny Wallace finished fifth and took home only $700, nothing too out of the ordinary in the world of dirt-track racing.

He took his No. 36 Jegs-powered Dirt Late Modified to a solid top-5 finish. However, fans online held a bone of contention over the amount he took home once Wallace posted tSidhe figures on Twitter. In his own words, from a recent video address on his social media, he began, “So, I posted, only on X, the payout from the Turkey Bowl at Springfield, Missouri, and it was a really good payout. It was $6,064 to win. $3,000 for second, $1,500 for the third. And I run fifth, and I got $700… I have done this. I have posted pictures of payouts periodically through the years. Not a lot. But periodically and it amazes me, some of the comments…” 

“I don’t want to call people dumb a—-,” said Wallace. “But in some of the comments, I see people. They’re like, ‘But Kenny Wallace, you got Jegs as a sponsor.’ So the fans are mad that I didn’t make enough money? No, that’s what it really is. Kenny reflected that his $700 earnings came as no surprise. “That’s the way it’s always been,” he asserts. “That way whenever there is a big dirt race, second place is always going to be 50 to 60% less. So, if it pays $3,000 to win, for example… It’s going to be $1,300 to $1,500 for second. That’s dirt racing.”

Maybe that’s exactly how it is, but that’s when Kim, his wife of over 30 years, entered the frame of his passionate rant against the economics of dirt-track racing. So Wallace used her expert opinions to add extra weight to his argument. With her seasoned insight, Kim Wallace distilled her husband’s fiery statement into one crystal-clear truth: “It’s a hobby for some. They might try to make money, but it’s hard.”

A similar lack of parity is also evident at the Dirt Track World Championship events. The annual dirt race has a very big difference when it comes to how the prize purse is split. While the winner gets the massive sum of $100,000, second place gets only $20,000. This number keeps falling for the rest of the top 10, with the 10th place driver making only $4,000 for their performance in the race.

Regardless, Kenny Wallace wasn’t done. He continued his monologue and aimed at those fans unfamiliar with the expenses dirt track racing drivers incur. “There are some of these people on (the internet) that are like, ‘Did they give you free pit passes?’ No! I paid for my pit passes—$40. Even the kid that I interviewed.” The 61-year-old referred to a separate video on his X account, where he conducted an impromptu interview with a fellow short-track racer loading his machine on a flat-back across the street. That ‘kid’ Wallace met was budding Batesville wheelman, Connor Wheeler.

Wallace made sure to drive home a key point. Guys like Jonathan Davenport and Ricky Thornton Jr. aren’t owner-drivers. That essentially means, “They don’t pay for the motors. They don’t pay for anything. They get a percentage for driving the car. That’s how they make it.” Compared to the circumstances prevalent under the brighter lights of NASCAR-sanctioned events, ordinary dirt track racers do not get all the benefits, and it’s no surprise. Hence, to shed light on the contrast, Kenny Wallace broke it down to give fans a more detailed look at life at the top tier of stock car racing compared to the grind of local dirt tracks.

A harrowing financial divide

Trending

Tony Stewart’s Wife Leah Pruett Pens a Heartfelt Message for Husband After His Unwavering Support for His Family

“We Are Not Morning People”- Travel Woes Hit Home for Kyle Busch & Wife Samantha Leaving Son Brexton Grinning

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Offers a Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity to His Loyal Fanbase as He Gears Up for His Return With Budweiser

Joe Gibbs Drops a Bombshell ’Without Warning”, Leaves Denny Hamlin Shocked

“Godspeed Les” – NASCAR Loses Old School Pioneer Integral to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Late Modal Venture

Kenny Wallace is no stranger to the expensive ways of NASCAR. He is a three-time winner of the Busch Series Most Popular Driver award. His older brothers, Mike and Rusty, have won races sanctioned by the sport’s governing body, the same as Kenny. But it’s Rusty who stands out as the only Wallace ever to hoist a NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy, a distinction that sets him apart in his family’s storied legacy on the track.

Rusty Wallace won the 1989 Winston Cup championship with the iconic #27 team under drag racing icon Raymond Beadle’s ownership. But he rose to household acclaim in NASCAR, driving the #2 car for Roger Penske. The 86-year-old team owner recently became a 5-time NASCAR Cup Series champion with Joey Logano. That was reason enough for Wallace to compare the financial dynamics by examining Team Penske’s thriving stock car racing operations.

Wallace explained, “[Penske] buys the building; he buys the cars; he buys the motors.” But then comes the driver’s job to get the sponsorships. And it’s not just the big backers paying for the entire show. He detailed the divisions in income: “There’s what you call the purse and that’s what NASCAR gives you from the people in the grandstands… Then, second is TV money…. They share the TV money. Then they got the charter system money. It’s kind of like the union. ‘Oh, you’re going to race with us, are you? Then we’ll give you this if you run every week and you sign up. And if we ask you to do appearances, you do appearances to help promote the sport.’”

“So, in NASCAR that’s the way it is,” concluded Kenny Wallace. While not every dirt track event can boast a jaw-dropping payout like the Eldora Million, or capture the spotlight quite like a NASCAR race, one thing remains clear: the gap between dirt racing and NASCAR has never felt smaller. Thanks to the rise of alumni like Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson, the heartbeat of grassroots racing continues to echo loudly in the world of NASCAR.