NASCAR WCUP: Kenny Wallace taking steps in the right direction
28 March 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
|
"It was a great weekend for the Square D/Cooper Lighting Chevy," said Wallace. "It was our best showing of the season, and it puts us back on track. I'm happy with our top-20 finish and we hope to continue to qualify well for each race.
"Our pit crew has risen to the occasion every weekend this season," continued Wallace. "Today, they kept fighting to keep me competitive with the field. We had a good race car toward the end, and we like to finish every race strong."
With new NASCAR Winston Cup Series venues being built across the country, modern-day drivers travel more than rock stars. One would think that Winston Cup drivers have enough frequent flyer miles to fly for free to Sunday's DirecTV 500, but the reality is that most drivers are trading in their commercial airline frequent flyer cards for a private plane ride to Texas Motor Speedway.
Kenny Wallace, driver of the Square D/Cooper Lighting Chevrolet, recently bought a King Air 200 twin-engine plane so he would have more control over his busy schedule. While the purchase may seem a little extravagant, he acquired it to spend more time with his family.
"I bought a plane this winter that I use to fly to and from race tracks," said Wallace. "My family has worked hard in life to put us in a position where I can bring my wife and kids to the race every weekend. With the plane, my kids can go to a full week of school and still get to be with me and my wife on the weekends."
Over the past three years, NASCAR has added races in the cities of Fort Worth, Texas, Las Vegas, Fontana, Calif., and Homestead, Fla. With future tracks under construction in Kansas City, Kan., and Joliet, Ill., and a proposed race track within the vicinity of New York City, Wallace hopes to maximize his travel time.
"The way Winston Cup races are spread out all across the United States, commercial flying can be very inconvenient," continued Wallace. "With my own plane, I get to spend an extra day with my family. Normally, if I were flying commercial to Texas, I would spend an entire day traveling. Now, I'm down in Texas in just three hours, and I have a full day Thursday to be at home with my family."
And what time Wallace doesn't waste standing in line for a flight, he spends at home with his three daughters, Brooke (age 13), Brandy (age 11) and Brittany (age 9). Wallace even has enough time to help coach his daughter's softball team.
"When I do have time, I have so much fun with my girls. I really get into Brandy's Tuesday softball practices as an assistant coach for her Odel Elementary School softball team. My youngest one is getting into softball now as well, so I just try to help out when I can. Those girls keep me as busy as my racing does, but it's a lot of fun."
Text provided by Chris Hunt
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