Editing Rusty Wallace (section)

==Racing career==
===Early career===
Prior to joining the NASCAR circuit, Wallace made a name for himself racing around in [[Florida]], winning a pair of local track championships and more than 200 short track races. In 1979, he won the [[United States Auto Club]]'s (USAC) [[USAC Stock Car|Stock Car]] Rookie of the Year honors, finishing third in points behind [[A. J. Foyt]] and [[Bay Darnell]].<ref name=ultimateracinghistory>[http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/usacstock.htm "USAC Stock Car Championship History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804171900/http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/usacstock.htm |date=2017-08-04 }}; ultimateracinghistory.com, Retrieved September 7, 2007.</ref> In 1981, he finished second in the USAC Stock Cars championship standings, behind [[Joe Ruttman]].<ref name=ultimateracinghistory />

In 1983, he won the [[American Speed Association]] (ASA) championship while also competing against some of NASCAR's future stars like [[Mark Martin]], [[Alan Kulwicki]], and [[Dick Trickle]].

===NASCAR career===
[[File:88RustyWallace1984.jpg|thumb|left|No. 88 Rookie of the Year racecar (1984)]]
[[File:PhilParsonsRustyWallace1985.jpg|thumb|left|Wallace in the No. 2 (background) in 1985]]
In 1980, Wallace made his NASCAR debut at Atlanta, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet for [[Roger Penske]]. He ended up finishing second in the race after qualifying seventh. He made nine NASCAR appearances over the next three years, finishing inside the Top 10 in only one more race. In 1984, Wallace joined the [[Winston Cup]] circuit full-time, winning [[NASCAR Rookie of the Year]] honors and finishing 14th in the final points standings. He drove the No. 88 [[Gatorade]] [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]] for Cliff Stewart with a best finish of fourth, along with two fifth-place finishes and four further Top 10s. Wallace stayed with Cliff Stewart for 1985 but this time, he drove the No. 2 Alugard Pontiac. In 29 races, Wallace had two Top 5s and eight Top 10s.

====Blue Max Racing====
In 1986, Wallace switched teams to the No. 27 Alugard-sponsored Pontiac for [[Raymond Beadle]]'s [[Blue Max Racing]] team. His first win came at [[Bristol Motor Speedway]] on April 6, 1986.<ref name="firstwin" /> He also won at Martinsville on September 21. He finished the year with two wins, four Top 5s, and 16 Top 10s in 29 races. He finished 6th in the points, making this his first Top 10 finish in the standings. In 1987, Wallace gained sponsorship from [[Kodiak tobacco]], establishing the No. 27 Kodiak Pontiac livery his early career is most remembered for. He scored victories at [[Watkins Glen International|Watkins Glen]] and [[Riverside International Raceway|Riverside]], as well as his first series pole at Michigan in June. These results were backed up with nine Top 5s and 16 Top 10s in 29 races. He finished 5th in the final points standings.

During a practice session at Bristol on August 27, 1988, Wallace's car lost control and slammed on the turn 4 wall before barrel rolling five times on the straightaway. It took rescue officials - including [[Jerry Punch]] - 15 minutes to extract him from the wrecked car. According to Wallace, he nearly choked to death from a ham sandwich he ate before practice.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1988-08-27-0060310029-story.html |title=Wallace Escapes Injuries in 5-flip Crash in Practice |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |date=August 27, 1988 |access-date=September 2, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sportscasting.com/dr-jerry-punch-recounts-incredible-story-about-time-saved-rusty-wallace-dying-bizarre-death-after-a-horrifying-accident/ |title=Dr. Jerry Punch Recounts Incredible Story to Dale Earnhardt Jr. About Time He Saved Rusty Wallace From Dying a Bizarre Death After a Horrifying Accident |first=Kyle |last=Dalton |website=Sportscasting |date=March 9, 2021 |access-date=September 2, 2021}}</ref> Despite this near-death experience, Wallace developed his career further in 1988, scoring six victories (including four of the final five races of the year). His wins were at [[Michigan International Speedway|Michigan]], [[Charlotte Motor Speedway|Charlotte]], [[North Wilkesboro Speedway|North Wilkesboro]], [[Rockingham Motor Speedway|Rockingham]], the final race ever run at [[Riverside International Raceway|Riverside]], and the season finale at [[Atlanta Motor Speedway|Atlanta]]. With these six wins as well as 19 Top 5s and four further Top 10s, he finished 2nd to [[Bill Elliott]] by 24 points.

[[File:RustyWallace27car1989.jpg|thumb|left|1989 car at Phoenix with Kodiak paint scheme]]
In 1989, Wallace won the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship with crew chief [[Barry Dodson]], by finishing 15th at the [[1989 Atlanta Journal 500|Atlanta Journal 500]] at Atlanta to beat out close friend and fierce rival [[Dale Earnhardt]] (the race winner) by 12 points. Wallace also won [[1989 The Winston|The Winston]] in a controversial fashion, by spinning out [[Darrell Waltrip]] on the last lap.

In [[1990 in NASCAR|1990]], Raymond Beadle switched sponsors, to [[Miller Genuine Draft]]. The four-year sponsorship deal was tied specifically to Wallace, meaning it went to whichever team Wallace went. The 1989 championship year was reportedly marked with acrimony between him and Beadle. However, Wallace was stuck with the team for 1990 due to his contract.<ref name="wallacemillion">{{Cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEFD61531F932A25751C1A96F948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |title=Wallace a Million-Dollar Man – New York Times |newspaper=The New York Times |date=11 December 1989 |access-date=2017-02-12 |archive-date=2021-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423173411/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/11/sports/wallace-a-million-dollar-man.html |url-status=live |last1=Siano |first1=Joe }}</ref> Rusty won 18 races for Beadle.

====Penske Racing====
In 1991, Wallace took the Miller sponsorship with him to [[Penske Racing]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE0DB123DF93AA25755C0A966958260 |title=Wallace Revs Up in Bid for Title – New York Times |newspaper=The New York Times |date=19 June 1990 |access-date=2017-02-12 |archive-date=2021-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423173346/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/19/sports/wallace-revs-up-in-bid-for-title.html |url-status=live |last1=Siano |first1=Joseph }}</ref> and he continued in the No. 2 [[Miller Genuine Draft]] [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]]. He also won the 1991 [[International Race of Champions|IROC]] championship. While 1992 only carried him one win, the win at the Miller 400 was satisfying;  it was the first win for Wallace in a car which arguably was his best known chassis for his career, one affectionately known as "Midnight" after the win.  With this nickname, the car raced for six seasons, carrying various race wins before being taken out of the fleet in 1997.

The [[1993 in NASCAR|1993]] season was arguably his most successful season despite two major accidents at Daytona and Talladega, in which his car went airborne and flipped several times. He won the second race of the season on February 28, 1993, at North Carolina Motor Speedway. The season was also a sad one, as Wallace's friend and reigning NASCAR Champion Alan Kulwicki was killed flying into Bristol in April 1993. Because of this, when Wallace won the race at Bristol, in respect to Alan Kulwicki, he did a "[[Polish victory lap]]"—turning his car around and driving around the track the wrong way, as made famous by Kulwicki. In every race Wallace won that year he performed a "Kulwicki victory lap". He won all three races in April (Bristol on April 4, [[1993 First Union 400|North Wilkesboro on April 18]], and Martinsville on April 25). Also, he won the first ever race at the New Hampshire Speedway, starting 33rd, on July 11.
In 1993, he won 10 of the 30 races,<ref name="penskeford">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/02/sports/auto-racing-hey-rusty-wallace-and-roger-penske-have-you-driven-a-ford-lately.html?pagewanted=1 |title=AUTO RACING; Hey, Rusty Wallace and Roger Penske, Have You Driven a Ford Lately? |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=2 January 1994 |access-date=2017-02-12 |archive-date=2016-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112063413/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/02/sports/auto-racing-hey-rusty-wallace-and-roger-penske-have-you-driven-a-ford-lately.html?pagewanted=1 |url-status=live |last1=Siano |first1=Joseph }}</ref> but finished 2nd in the final points standings, 80 points behind Earnhardt. He ended the season strong, finishing in the Top 3 in all but two of the final 10 races of the season.

Penske switched to [[Ford Motor Company|Fords]] in [[1994 in NASCAR|1994]].<ref name="penskeford"/> In 1996, sponsorship changed from Miller Genuine Draft to [[Miller beer]] sponsorship. At the end of the 1996 season, NASCAR hosted its first of three exhibition races in Japan, the first of two at [[Suzuka International Racing Course|Suzuka]]. Wallace was the winner of that first race.

[[File:Old School NASCAR&nbsp;– Rusty Wallace 1994.jpg|thumb|left|Wallace at [[Michigan International Speedway|Michigan]] in 1994 with his MGD paint scheme]]
[[File:Rusty Wallace Penske South Ford Nazareth 1996.jpg|thumb|right|Wallace's only Truck Series start was at [[Nazareth Speedway]] in 1996]]
[[File:RustyWallace1997Pocono2.jpg|thumb|right|1997 paint scheme]]
In [[1997 in NASCAR|1997]], Miller changed the team's sponsorship to [[Miller Lite]], replacing the black and gold with a blue and white scheme. In 1998, Wallace won the [[Bud Shootout]] at Daytona, a non-points race for the previous years pole winners and past winners of the race. It was the first win for Ford's new [[Ford Taurus|Taurus]], and Wallace's only victory at NASCAR's premier track (as well as his only victory in any [[restrictor plate]] race) in a Cup car.

In 2000, he secured his 50th career win at Bristol, becoming the 10th driver in NASCAR to win 50+ races. He is also the only driver in NASCAR history to win his 1st and 50th career victories at the same track, and in the same race. He would also score three more wins at Pocono, Michigan, and the night race at Bristol (season sweep at Bristol). He finished 7th in the final points standings after some inconsistency in the championship race. The next year, he won at California for his 54th career win. He won on what would have been [[Dale Earnhardt]]'s 50th birthday and paid tribute to him with an Earnhardt flag. Wallace almost won the 2002 Sharpie 500 after being bumped out of the way by his rival Jeff Gordon.

[[File:RustyWallaceRIR98.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Rusty Wallace.|Wallace at [[Richmond Raceway|Richmond]] in 1998.]]
In 2003, Penske Racing switched to Dodge and appropriately, in 2004, Wallace won his 55th (and final) race on a short track: the 2004 spring [[Martinsville Speedway]] race. It was also the last win for the track under the ownership of the [[H. Clay Earles]] Trust; the death of Mary Weatherford (matriarch of the trust) forced the Trust to sell the track a month later.

[[File:2005 Dodge Charger - Flickr - exfordy.jpg|thumb|right|2005 Nextel Cup car at the [[Goodwood Festival of Speed]]]]
On August 30, 2004, Wallace announced that the [[2005 in NASCAR|2005]] NASCAR [[NEXTEL Cup]] season would be his last as a full-time driver. Although at the time the possibility remained that he may have continued to run a limited schedule after the 2005 season—as semi-retirees [[Bill Elliott]] and [[Terry Labonte]] also have done, Wallace's broadcasting contract at the time prevented him from doing so. Kurt Busch would replace Wallace in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in 2006–2010. In 2011, [[Brad Keselowski]] began driving the number 2.

In 2006, Wallace returned to his [[General Motors]] roots when he raced a Crawford-Pontiac sportscar, painted black and carrying the familiar stylized No. 2. The car was sponsored by Callaway Golf, in the [[Rolex 24]] at [[Daytona International Speedway|Daytona]], teamed with [[Danica Patrick]] and [[Allan McNish]], In 2008, his [[Nationwide Series]] cars switched from Dodge to Chevrolet.

Rusty Wallace finished his career with the 1989 Winston Cup Championship, 36 career poles, and 55 career wins. As of 2022, the 55 wins is 11th on NASCAR's all-time wins list. They include victories at [[Charlotte Motor Speedway|Charlotte]] as well as the series' last three road courses ([[Riverside International Raceway|Riverside]], [[Infineon Raceway|Infineon]] and [[Watkins Glen International|Watkins Glen]]), but none at [[Daytona International Speedway|Daytona]], [[Darlington Speedway|Darlington]], [[Indianapolis Motor Speedway|Indianapolis]], or [[Talladega Superspeedway|Talladega]]. He has the most short track wins in NASCAR history with 34, and therefore he is considered among the best short track drivers in NASCAR history. He retired after the 2005 season with a 14.4 career average finish.

In 2014, Wallace ran at Daytona for testing before the [[2014 Daytona 500]] as part of a promotion for Miller Lite's 40th anniversary, marking the first time a [[NASCAR Hall of Fame]]r has driven in a NASCAR test.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gluck|first=Jeff|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2014/01/08/daytona-500-2014-rusty-wallace-brad-keselowski/4370741/|title=Rusty Wallace to drive No. 2 at NASCAR Daytona test|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=January 8, 2014|access-date=January 8, 2014|archive-date=January 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111062813/http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2014/01/08/daytona-500-2014-rusty-wallace-brad-keselowski/4370741/|url-status=live}}</ref> When asked about the testing, Wallace stated, "It all started at [[Homestead-Miami Speedway|Homestead]]. I was standing between the 48 ([[Jimmie Johnson]]) and 2 (Brad Keselowski) cars joking around and those guys were egging me on to get back in a car and when Brad got wind of it, he called me up two weeks later and was serious about it and Roger (Penske) was all for it. Everyone in the world has been on me to test. 'Why haven't you been back in a car?' This here kind of got me."<ref>{{cite web|last=Cain|first=Holly|url=http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2014/1/8/rusty-wallace-daytona-test-preseason-thunder.html|title=RUSTY WALLACE RETURNS TO NO. 2 AT DAYTONA TEST|publisher=[[NASCAR]]|date=January 8, 2014|access-date=January 8, 2014|archive-date=January 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109043749/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2014/1/8/rusty-wallace-daytona-test-preseason-thunder.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Major crashes====
Wallace's legacy, besides being a close rival of [[Dale Earnhardt]], was a number of severe wrecks he endured, especially at restrictor plate racetracks. The first one happened in 1983, when Wallace was attempting the [[Daytona 500]] through the [[Gatorade Twin 125's]]. He was tapped by [[Rick Wilson (racing driver)|Rick Wilson]], got airborne, and went on a spectacular series of flips that left him hospitalized. His next flip came at [[Bristol Motor Speedway]] in 1988. What started it was unclear, but Wallace somehow managed to climb the wall and did a barrel roll. The roof of his car caved in. [[ESPN]] commentator [[Dr. Jerry Punch]] was the first responder, and possibly saved his life. In 1993, Wallace had two massive flips – both at plate tracks. The first was at the [[1993 Daytona 500]], where he was tapped by the crashing cars of [[Michael Waltrip]] and [[Derrike Cope]], and barrel rolled multiple times in the grass on the back straightaway several feet in the air.  Months later, at [[1993 Winston 500|Talladega]], racing to the checkered flag, Wallace was tagged from behind by [[Dale Earnhardt]], turned backwards, and flew into the air before violently flipping in the grass past the start-finish line, breaking a wrist (the area where Wallace's car wrecked has since been paved over). Earnhardt was visibly shaken by the incident and did make sure Wallace was okay by checking on him after the race had concluded. Wallace finished 80 points behind Earnhardt in the final points for 1993.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/11/14/Wallace-takes-Hooters-500-Earnhardt-takes-Winston-Cup/3985753253200/| work=United Press International| title=Wallace takes Hooters 500-Earnhardt takes Winston Cup| date=November 14, 1993| access-date=October 8, 2017| archive-date=October 8, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008180254/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1993/11/14/Wallace-takes-Hooters-500-Earnhardt-takes-Winston-Cup/3985753253200/| url-status=live}}</ref> He also had an airborne crash in his last Gatorade Twin in 2005 when Dave Blaney clipped his right rear tire and sent his car off the ground. The car never turned over though.

===Other racing===
On April 1, 2015, Wallace tested a [[Stadium Super Truck]] owned by former NASCAR driver [[Robby Gordon]], and the following day, he announced he would race in the series' [[X Games]] round in Austin.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fryer|first=Jenna|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/rusty-wallace-compete-off-road-truck-race-games-30064675|title=Rusty Wallace to Compete in off-Road Truck Race at X Game|publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=April 2, 2015|access-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403102720/http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/rusty-wallace-compete-off-road-truck-race-games-30064675|archive-date=April 3, 2015}}</ref> After finishing last in his heat race, he was relegated to the last-chance qualifier.<ref name="X Games" /> During the LCQ, Wallace rolled his truck, but continued running;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://xgames.espn.go.com/xgames/video/13030790/off-road-truck-racing-lcq-crash-reel|title=Off-Road Truck Racing LCQ crash reel|work=[[X Games]]|access-date=June 18, 2015|archive-date=June 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619092611/http://xgames.espn.go.com/xgames/video/13030790/off-road-truck-racing-lcq-crash-reel|url-status=dead}}</ref> he finished sixth in the event but failed to qualify for the feature.<ref name="X Games">{{cite web|url=http://xgames.espn.go.com/xgames/events/2015/austin/results/400766423/off-road-truck-racing|title=Off Road Truck Racing|work=[[X Games]]|access-date=June 18, 2015|archive-date=June 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619094742/http://xgames.espn.go.com/xgames/events/2015/austin/results/400766423/off-road-truck-racing|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2016, Wallace competed in the [[2016 Finali Mondiali|Ferrari Finali Mondiali]] at Daytona. Driving for "Ferrari of Houston", Wallace finished tenth overall and third in the Professional, North America class.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wilhelm|first=Chase|url=http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/gallery/rusty-wallace-enjoys-successful-out-of-the-box-experience-at-daytona-ferrari-event-120516|title=Rusty Wallace enjoys successful 'out of the box' experience at Daytona Ferrari event|work=[[Foxsports.com]]|date=December 5, 2016|access-date=December 6, 2016|archive-date=December 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206181016/http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/gallery/rusty-wallace-enjoys-successful-out-of-the-box-experience-at-daytona-ferrari-event-120516|url-status=live}}</ref>