"I'll admit it, I'm on his coattails" - Kenny Wallace praises Rusty Wallace’s influence in NASCAR career while thanking sponsors

Kenny Wallace recently appreciated his sponsors, among them was his brother, Rusty Wallace, on the occasion of Thanksgiving. Wallace distinguished the former Cup Series champion Rusty for influencing and shaping his NASCAR career.

The Wallaces are a family of racers with three generations making a mark in the motorsports world. The three brothers- Rusty, Mike, and Kenny competed for over two decades in the NASCAR national series. Rusty was the only one to etch his name on the 1989 Cup championship while his two younger brothers found success primarily in the Xfinity Series.

In a recent Coffee with Kenny segment on X(formerly Twitter), Kenny Wallace showed his gratitude to all of his sponsors and claimed "Without these people, I cannot race." Moreover, the 61-year-old also admitted to enjoying his brother's success in stock car racing as well.

"Big Brother Rusty. I love him with my life, I'm so thankful on this day I would have never made it to NASCAR. And I'll admit it right now, I'm on his coattails. I'm on my brother Rusty's coattails. Couldn't be more happy. I love Rusty and Patty[Rusty Wallace's wife]. They've been with me, supporting me, ever since I wanted to race. So thank you, Rusty and Patty and Southern Country Customs, they build motorcycles." [4:20]

Furthermore, the St. Louis, Missouri native deemed relationships with the sponsors as the building blocks of getting to race in the competition. He added:

"And, you know, listen, this is the only way I learned how to race. Sponsorships, friendships, relationships, networking. If you don't do this, you can't race. And I've made friends with every one of my sponsors. They are not just my sponsors. These are my friends." [9:01]

While Wallace gave courtesy to his elder brother for being a support system in his NASCAR career, he also admitted to having tough love from NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace.

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"Rusty wanted me to be good so bad,": Kenny Wallace recalls how his relationship with sibling Rusty Wallace shaped his NASCAR career

Former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace watches the kids' go-cart race in Bishop. - Source: Imagn

In an episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Kenny Wallace discussed his relationship with his elder brother, Rusty Wallace. The younger Wallace sibling also mentioned how his championship-winning brother helped him in his NASCAR journey.

Speaking with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and co-host Mike Davis, Wallace said:

"Rusty would be so damn mean to me, but later on I realized, you know, he meant good for me. I mean, if it weren't for Rusty, I would have never made it to NASCAR."

Moreover, Kenny Wallace claimed that everyone wanted to be like seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and Rusty was strong-headed in his ambition to be one of the top NASCAR drivers in the '80s and '90s.

"One thing I learned at early life is that Rusty was so, you know, great athletes are so damn laser focused. They see nothing around them except what they want to do," Wallace added.

Wallace also spoke about his elder brother's expectations of him and how the 55-time Cup Series race winner would want him to match his levels.

"You know, Rusty wanted me to be good so bad. And damn, I was trying. I just, that's all I had, you know. I never had any animosity towards any of my brothers," said Kenny Wallace.

Nevertheless, Kenny Wallace managed nine wins and 173 top-tens in the Xfinity Series. He last competed as a part-timer in the 2015 season. Since his retirement, Wallace occasionally competed in local dirt tracks and transitioned into a NASCAR analyst.