“All I could do is be a supportive brother”: Kenny Wallace delivers clear stance on “dejected” sibling Mike’s Daytona 500 “embarrassment”

Kenny Wallace clarified his stance after his brother Mike was denied a spot in NASCAR's complete 2025 slate, including the Daytona 500. Mike was set to return to his first Cup Series race since the 2015 Daytona 500 but NASCAR's vice-president of competition Elton Sawyer sidelined the bid.

Mike collaborated with MBM Motorsports to pilot the #66 Ford at the season-opener race. However, recent developments have declared the 65-year-old Missouri native unfit to enter the highly-coveted Premier Level event.

It's worth mentioning that while NASCAR president Mike Helton nodded to Mike Wallace's Daytona bid, Elton Sawyer rejected it. NASCAR observed Mike's recent racing activity and noticed he lacked intermediate or bigger race track experience since 2015.

"Dejected" by the verdict, Mike shared his "embarrassment" of being ineligible to race in any NASCAR event with his brother Kenny. The latter opened up about his conversation with Mike, expressing that all he can do is support his brother.

"I received a call from brother Mike this Monday at around 3, and his voice sounded very dejected, he's embarrassed. But the headlines are right. Mike received a phone call from Elton Sawyer, and Elton said, 'Mike, we're disqualifying you, not just from the Daytona 500 but anything in NASCAR," Kenny Wallace said on his YouTube channel (0:40).

"Mike told me that he told Elton, 'Elton, we're friends, but can you explain to me why.' So Elton Sawyer told Mike, 'Because of your inactivity, you haven't done any racing in five years.' Listen, all I could do it be a supportive brother. I told him, 'Mike, deep breath, keep your head up high," he added.

Mike Wallace made his most recent NASCAR start in 2020 when he ran a three-race Xfinity Series slate for JD Motorsports.

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Kenny Wallace's brother makes his feelings known on Daytona 500 rejection

Under NASCAR's Open Exemption Provisional (OEP) rule, non-full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers can apply to race in any Cup race, with a 90-day prior intimation. Furthermore, the sanctioning body didn't explicitly state the eligibility criteria but stated that NASCAR would take the call on each application, having a significant racing resume.

However, after analyzing Mike Wallace's five-year hiatus since the last NASCAR race and a decade-long break since a Superspeedway race, Elton Sawyer deemed his candidature invalid. Mike has etched three Daytona wins, in the ARCA, the Xfinity Series, and the Truck Series, but his inactivity negated his prior racing experience on a superspeedway.

'Shocked' by the ruling, Mike expressed his thoughts, penning a long note.

"To my utter shock and devastation at 4:00 today, NASCAR competition director Elton Sawyer called me to inform that NASCAR has decided to not only not approve me for Daytona 500 but at this time, not approved to race in the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck series in 2025...This comes as a total shock as President of NASCAR last week, in a real phone call, told me all was good," an excerpt of Kenny Wallace's brother's message read via Bob Pockrass on X.

Despite a robbed opportunity, Mike Wallace could resurge in 2026, provided he ends his inactivity.