Background and career
Kenneth Lee Wallace (born August 23, 1963) is an American race car driver and former reporter for Fox NASCAR. He retired from NASCAR in 2015 after driving in the national series since 1988. In a career spanning 25 years in NASCAR, Wallace had nine wins, all occurring in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. Now retired from NASCAR competition, he continues to race on local dirt tracks across the country as a hobby.
Wallace is the youngest of three brothers Rusty and Mike, born to Russ and Judy Wallace. Russ was a prolific race winner himself, which made him unpopular with fans. Wallace earned his nickname, "Herman," early in life when Lake Hill Speedway promoter Bob Mueller made note of Wallace's boisterous behavior when taking up for his father, likening him to the mischievous cartoon character Herman the German. Wallace who was hyperactive as a child has been diagnosed with ADHD. He went to Fox High School in Arnold, Missouri.
Wallace began his racing career by working as a mechanic on his father's race cars and brother's team. He entered his first race, the Illinois Street Stock State Championship, in 1982, winning the event. In 1984, Wallace worked as a mechanic for Benfield Racing and Joe Ruttman, eventually being promoted to crew chief after Jake Elder left the team. He would continue to work as crew chief until the late 1980s before transitioning to a full time driver. Wallace later commented on his struggle going from a mechanic to driver stating:
Going from a mechanic to a race car driver was pretty difficult, I ended up calling a man named John Childs, who owned some tire stores in the O'Fallon area. John helped me financially and so did our motor man, Don Kirn. Racing cars is super expensive, and I could have never done it by myself. Wallace entered the American Speed Association in 1986, achieving Rookie of the Year honors in the series after finishing 11th in the standings with seven top-tens. During the 1987 seasons he finished in tenth once again securing seven top-tens, he raced his final full year in the ASA in 1988 where he finished 7th with ten top-tens.
In September 1988, Dale Earnhardt gave Wallace the seat for his first-ever NASCAR start, in which he finished eleventh in the Busch Series race at Martinsville Speedway, driving the No. 8 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet. The following year, he raced the full Busch Series schedule in a car owned by brother Rusty Wallace, sponsored by Cox Treated Lumber earning the 1989 Rookie of the Year award and finishing sixth in driver point standings with sixteen top-tens and three poles. In 1990, he made his Winston Cup debut at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the No. 36 Pontiac for Randy Cox, finishing 26th after a late-race crash, setting up the controversial finish, which saw Brett Bodine win. He finished seventh in the Busch Series, finishing the year with fourteen top-tens and one pole win. The following season, he won his first two career races at Volusia County and New Hampshire, and finished a career-best second in the Busch points behind champion Bobby Labonte. He also subbed for Kyle Petty in two races in the Cup series at Charlotte and Dover. At the Pyroil 500, he competed against his brothers Mike and Rusty, marking the first time since Bob, Fonty, and Tim Flock raced that three brothers competed in the same race. In 1992, Dirt Devil became his sponsor and he won his third career Busch race at Martinsville, but several mechanical problems dropped him down to sixth in points.
In 1993, Wallace moved up to the Winston Cup Series full-time, driving the No. 40 Dirt Devil Pontiac Grand Prix for SABCO Racing. The team got a considerable amount of television time as the team was featured on the TV show What Would You Do?. He had three top-tens and finished 23rd in points, but lost his ride at the end of the season. He returned to the Busch Series to drive the No. 8 TIC Financial Systems Ford for FILMAR Racing. He earned three wins at Bristol, Richmond and Martinsville he finished fourth in points. Towards the end of the season, he was hired by Robert Yates Racing to replace an injured Ernie Irvan in the Cup series. In twelve races, he finished in the top-ten three times. In 1995, Wallace and FILMAR split time between the Cup and Busch Series. Wallace had one win with the Red Dog Ford in the Busch Series at Richmond, and made eleven starts in the Cup Series in the No. 81 car. Wallace and FILMAR began racing in Cup full-time 1996 with funding from Square D. They had two top-ten finishes and finished 28th in points. That year he also claimed one Busch Series win at Richmond. The following season, he won two poles, at Bristol and Martinsville respectively, but fell five spots in the standings. Despite seven top-tens in 1998, Wallace and Square D left FILMAR to drive Andy Petree Racing's new No. 55 entry. Wallace finished in the top-ten five times and had a career-best 22nd-place finish in points. After only one top-ten in 2000 and a 26th place finish in the points, he departed the team. The sole top-ten came in his second-place finish to Dale Earnhardt in the 2000 Winston 500, which was Earnhardt's 76th and final victory. Wallace pushed Earnhardt to the front in four laps to the lead.
