“This is stupid”: Fans react as NASCAR rejects Rusty Wallace’s brother’s advances to race in the Daytona 500

Mike Wallace, the brother of the legendary Rusty Wallace and former FOX reporter Kenny Wallace, will not be allowed to qualify for this year’s Daytona 500. This ends MBM Motorsports’ bid for the crown jewel event. Therefore, when veteran journalist Bob Pockrass reported the news, fans didn’t mince words while taking to the comment section.

Mike Wallace, now 65, was originally expected to pilot the team’s No. 66 machine, flaunting a powerful engine crafted by Roush Yates Engines, the primary builder of Ford engines in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. But the issue is that Mike hasn’t driven a Cup car in an “intermediate or larger racetrack” since 2015.

“NASCAR has not approved Mike Wallace to race the Daytona 500 because he has not raced on an intermediate or larger racetrack since 2015,” Pockrass recently posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Several fans reacted to the news with one calling NASCAR’s decision “stupid”.

“This is stupid. Have him do an ARCA race and call it a day,” the fan commented.

“Any chance he'd get approval if he ran arca? obviously this would be incredibly unlikely but an interesting hypothetical,” another wrote.

Here are a few other comments on Pockrass’ tweet:

"But they let Derrike Cope race in the 2021 Daytona 500? He’s in his 60s," said a fan.

“Has anyone else paused that long and was able to race in the past?” another fan said.

“What a disgrace! Only because Mike is MAGA,” another added.

“We let Travis Pastrana, SVG and Helio Castroneves? BUT when it comes to a NASCAR veteran who has 200 cup starts “no he isn’t qualified.” He stepped away from NASCAR to take care of his family and now when returning after his wife’s death he’s told he’s not allowed,” a user typed.

Helio Castroneves, a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, will enter this year’s running of the Daytona 500 under the banner of Project 91, an initiative by Trackhouse Racing. Unlike Wallace, Castroneves will be allowed to qualify but in case he fails to qualify by speed or through the duels, NASCAR will grant him the 41st spot on the field under the newly announced Open Exemption Provisional.

Fans can watch the action unfold on February 16 from 2:30 pm ET onwards. The 500-miler will air on FOX, with live radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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“Mike was upset but nice, very nice”- Mike Wallace’s brother Kenny Wallace reflected on phone calls with NASCAR VP

In the latest episode of the Kenny Wallace Show, Kenny Wallace recalled how he got to know about NASCAR disqualifying his brother from running the 67th annual Daytona 500. According to Wallace, Mike had called him up yesterday to convey the “bummer”.

“I received a call from brother Mike this Monday, his voice sounded very dejected,” Wallace said. “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.”

Mike did not take it out on Sawyer, who is currently NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, or on anyone else for that matter. Instead, he politely asked Sawyer why he would not be allowed to run the race.

“Elton Sawyer told Mike that Mike, because of your inactivity...you haven't done any racing in five years,” Kenny Wallace said.

If Mike Wallace were allowed to run the Daytona 500, he would have been the second-oldest driver (after Mark Thompson) to run a NASCAR-sanctioned race. But given that Thompson was 66 at the time (2018) and Wallace is currently 65, the door to race could be open for the NASCAR vet in the future.