Like father, like daughter
Posted By DEAN MCNULTY, SUN MEDIA
Posted 2 months ago
Auto racing in general and NASCAR in particular has a long and glorious history of sons following fathers and younger brothers following older brothers into the sport.
The examples are too many to list here but all you have to think of is surnames such as Earnhardt, Petty, Unser, Villeneuve, Wallace and you get the picture.
To a family, all these are examples of boys following men.
But the Wallace family has done something none of their compatriots has ever done: Put a father/daughter combination together for a NASCAR race, when Mike Wallace and his daughter Chrissy started the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Father and daughter sat down recently to talk about the event and what led up to it.
"There aren't many people who can say they get to drive race cars at Talladega Super Speedway with their daughters," said Mike. "All the media generated around Chrissy and I, in regards to the history-making event for NASCAR.
"As we have for many, many years, the Wallace tradition is tied to NASCAR as my brothers Rusty and Kenny, and myself and Chrissy and Steven are making a living, and just really excited about the opportunity to show up there and be part of NASCAR history."
As for Chrissy, she pretty much takes its all in stride. She really can't see the huge deal about racing at Talladega's two-mile banked oval.
And, so what if she's racing her dad? He has always been a big part of her racing career.
"I had a full scholarship to go to college to play softball but at the time I was racing late models," she said. "It was then that I started thinking about NASCAR and I kind of had to make a choice if I'm going to race or if I'm going to play softball.
"Racing against my dad, it's something that we've always wanted to do. It's something that means a lot to me, and I think it's a good thing for me and for him."
Chrissy said it is just as important, however, that no matter what series she's racing in that she do well as a driver, not just as a girl or the daughter of a famous NASCAR driver.
"My big goal in everything is just going there, running really well, catching people's eye, and proving to other drivers and car owners that I can run really well," Chrissy said. "I just need the time; I need the support.
"And as long as I have the time and the support from everybody, then I think I can make it.
"It is something that I really want to do. I've always really wanted to race. And that was one of the big reasons I gave up a scholarship to go to school, so that I could do my dream."
While dad is, of course, protective of his little girl, he is deadly serious about her driving career. And he points out that her racing is not any kind of publicity stunt.
"This is not a gimmick in any way; there have been females that have raced before,"Mike said. "Chrissy, if you study her career, you back it up a couple years ago, she was the first female ever to win a NASCAR series event at the Hickory Motor Speedway in the 56-year history of the racetrack.
"She started her career last year at Martinsville finishing 18th on the lead lap (in the Camping World Truck Series). She raced a half dozen truck races last year, some ARCA races; went to Pocono, qualified fourth out of 50 cars there; finished ninth in an ARCA race.
"So there are no gimmicks involved; it's all hard-core racing. But just the honour and the history of being able to be involved with my daughter is a big thing to me."
Mike said he would back Chrissy up no matter what she tried, but that her choosing the family business does make it extra special.
"I felt very honoured the other day; we got a phone call from a public relations firm out of Georgia who said this has garnered such attention that the Oprah Winfrey Show had interest on the father and daughter, not so much the racing side of things, but a father and daughter doing things together," he said. "It's not something that happens that much anymore.
"We're excited about that, and I'm excited about her dedication to the sport.
"I'm very happy with what she's been able to do. If somebody tells you that you can't do something, you just work that much harder to prove them wrong. I think on the racetrack she's proven that already."
The final word should go to Chrissy, who has proven already, she's no shrinking violet.
"I do have an attitude that I'm going to go out there and I'm going to run good, and I'm going to finish good. So no matter what, I will have an attitude to where I'm going to just keep pushing myself harder and harder."
- dean.mcnulty@sunmedia.ca
