“I text Steve Phelps”: 65-year-old Mike Wallace details the steps it took for his Daytona 500 ‘approval process’

NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace’s brother Mike Wallace reflected on the steps he took to secure NASCAR’s approval to attempt the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season opener, the Daytona 500. Wallace said that he reached out directly to NASCAR president Steve Phelps via text message to initiate the process.

Wallace will attempt to run at the 2025 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16. He will drive the #66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for MBM Motorsports to become one of the four unchartered entries to lock into the prestigious “The Great American Race.”

In an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Alan Cavanna, the 65-year-old explained the process he went through to ensure his return to NASCAR after 10 years.

Wallace described how he reached out to NASCAR president Steve Phelps and how senior vice-president of Competition Elton Sawyer and MBM Motorsports owner Carl Long handled approval logistics before Chad Little, the final decision-maker, gave his approval.

“Look, I lay it all out to everybody openly. I call, I text Steve Phelps when this opportunity happens; that’s the president of NASCAR. My comment was, ‘Steve got this opportunity; I hope NASCAR with open arms is welcoming back. Yeah, look forward to seeing you here'. Elton Sawyer says, 'I'll look you up with membership. Carl Long says, Hey man, we need to get this all approved through Chad Little. You know, he's the final guy,'" Wallace said.

“We sent a letter to Chad; Chad sent us a note back. all looks good to us, I'll run it by the group, but I don't see any problem. So we're taking that as we have no problems. I mean, I guess there's plenty of time that somebody could change their mind, but once we were given that email from Chad, saying everything looks fine, we took it and made the announcement,” Wallace continued.

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Mike Wallace excited for his NASCAR Cup Series return

Mike Wallace, the younger brother of Rusty Wallace and older brother of Kenny Wallace, was a long-time competitor in the NASCAR Cup Series. He last competed in the Cup Series in the 2015 Daytona 500 for Identity Ventures Racing.

Expressing his feelings on making his NASCAR return, Mike Wallace said in a team release:

“I am very excited to be teamed up with Carl Long and the complete MBM Motorsports team, along with Doug Yates’ support, for a return trip to the Daytona 500 after being away for a few years.”

Mike Wallace, though, made three starts in the Xfinity Series during the 2020 season, all of them came at road courses for JD Motorsports. He has never tasted a victory at Cup level, but the 65-year-old Fenton, Missouri, native earned victories in the Xfinity Series, Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series.