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Earlier this week, reports emerged about next month’s Daytona 500. There was news of ex-NASCAR driver Mike Wallace making a comeback to the sport after several years. However, in the coming days, new regulations put forward for the upcoming season have quickly put a stop to that. Recently, his brother Kenny Wallace reacted to the news and recalled a story with Richard Petty and his son Kyle Petty.

According to Wallace, his older brother was relatively well off, financially. He described him as an ‘incredible entrepreneur’ who specialized in commercial real estate. Meanwhile, his more racing-minded brothers were not as wealthy. Kenny Wallace also admitted that he and his oldest sibling Rusty, were not as smart as Mike.

Additionally, Mike Wallace’s entrepreneurial brain helped him manage his money better. So if anyone was in the best position to fund their entry into the Daytona 500, it would be Mike. However, Kenny Wallace made some interesting comments about driver finances. As it turned out, the issue of drivers barely making ends meet, was not as uncommon as one would think. Even someone of Richard Petty’s caliber was not immune to the problem.

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Kenny Wallace revealed the Petty family’s struggles

Kenny Wallace told Charlie Marlow, “I got this story burned in my head. Kyle Petty told me this, ‘Diddy [Richard Petty] said, Kyle take all these old parts over to Buddy Arrington.’ For all the old fans, Buddy Arrington was a guy that ran 20th every week. So Kyle says, ‘I take all these parts over to Buddy Arrington’s. I roll up, and Buddy Arrington’s living in this mansion, cause Buddy decided to run 20th.’ Kyle said, ‘We were broke, Petty Enterprises didn’t have any money.’ If you look at it right now, Richard’s living in this little biddy old home, because they spent all their money on racing.” 

Buddy Arrington primarily raced in the 1970s and 80s during the latter half of Richard ‘King’ Petty’s NASCAR career. He accumulated 370 top-20 finishes but never accounted for a single win in 560 Cup Series races. This was a huge financial burden for Petty Enterprises which was the start of their financial downfall, despite the King’s incredible success.

Petty Enterprises was a historic team in NASCAR. Founded in 1949, the King and his father both drove for this team, amassing 250 wins for the team across their tenure. However, in 2009 due to a lack of sponsorships, the team shut down and merged with Gillet Evernham Motorsports, and the team was renamed Richard Petty Motorsports.

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This is honestly a far cry from the modern era, where NASCAR drivers are paid rather handsomely. However, back in the days of Richard Petty and the Wallaces, they all had to work on their cars. Of course, there were a fair number of drivers who were fairly wealthy and not afraid to flaunt it. However, Kyle Petty had told Wallace at the time that their family was not counted among the wealthy.

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Are modern NASCAR drivers losing touch with the gritty roots of legends like Richard Petty?

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As it turned out, Richard Petty lived in a fairly ordinary home, despite his status as a 7-time champion. To be frank, a large part of their funds went into racing, so there wasn’t much left to live the high life. In the end, all of the drivers in that era either earned enough to live comfortably, just about made ends meet, or lived luxuriously.

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How good was Mike Wallace as a NASCAR driver?

Truthfully, Rusty Wallace was pretty much the most successful of the Wallace family. Especially with the 1989 title, 55 wins, and 36 pole positions in the Cup Series. Kenny Wallace picked up nine wins at the Xfinity level, as well as 10 Xfinity poles and three poles in the Cup Series. Finally, Mike Wallace amassed five Truck Series wins and 3 pole positions. His most recent win came in 2011, and he continued racing as recently as 2020 in the Xfinity Series.

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At the Cup level, Mike Wallace’s last race was the 2015 Daytona 500, and this year’s race would have been a decade apart. Unfortunately, NASCAR’s new regulations do not permit a triumphant return to the 2025 edition of the iconic race as he has not raced on an intermediate or large racetrack since 2015. In the end, what’s done is done and all that anyone can do is wonder what could have been.

For now, all the fans will be looking forward to the upcoming season, which promises to be massive. First and foremost, is the return of the Bowman Gray Stadium. It effectively replaced the LA Coliseum Clash race from this season onwards. Considering the situation in LA, it is fortunate that NASCAR is not making landfall there.

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Are modern NASCAR drivers losing touch with the gritty roots of legends like Richard Petty?

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