‘Utterly shocked’ Mike Wallace makes feelings known on Elton Sawyer’s ‘devastating’ rejection of NASCAR president’s Daytona approval

Former NASCAR driver Mike Wallace recently announced that he would attempt to participate in the 2025 season opener, the Daytona 500. However, reports suggest Wallace has been denied entry into the prestigious crown jewel event this year.

Nine-time NASCAR race winner Mike made his NASCAR debut in the Xfinity series' 1990 Winston Classic at Martinsville Speedway. Of the nine races he has won, five were in the Truck Series, where he also secured a victory in the 2000 Daytona 250 piloting the #2 Ford for Ultra Motorsports. However, he could not get his hands on a victory in the Cup Series unlike his elder brother and former Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace did 55 times in his career.

Recently, esteemed NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass shared the update on Mike Wallace being rejected to run the Daytona 500. Pockrass shared a post by Mike, where the former NASCAR driver wrote:

"To my utter shock and devastation at 4:00 today, NASCAR competition director Elton Sawyer called me to inform me that NASCAR has decided not only to not approve me for Daytona 500 but at this time not approved to race in the Cup, Xfinity and Truck series in 2025 but could go through there process to possibly get approved for 2026. This comes as a total shock as the President of NASCAR last week in a real phone calltold me all was good and he will see me in Daytona."

The initial dialogue between Mike and NASCAR's senior VP of competition, Elton Sawyer, highlights the dynamic and evolving nature of the sport. However, while Mike Wallace's recent Facebook update confirmed the decision on his participation in the 2025 Daytona 500, it also hinted at a potential return for the Daytona 500 in the 2026 campaign.

---

"His voice sounded very dejected": Kenny Wallace reflects on conversation with Mike Wallace following NASCAR's Daytona 500 decision

Xfinity Series runner-up Kenny Wallace recently shared a portion of his conversation with his elder brother Mike Wallace, following NASCAR's shocking decision to not allow the latter any NASCAR racing in the 2025 season.

In a recent post on Kenny Wallace's Instagram, the 61-year-old said that his elder brother felt 'embarrassed' but the information is spot on.

"I received a call from brother Mike (Wallace) on this Monday and his voice sounded very dejected. He is 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.

After telling his brother about NASCAR's decision, the four-time Xfinity race winner shed light on the reason behind this decision by Sawyer.

"Mike told me that he told Elton, 'Elton, we're friends but can you explain to me why?' So Elton Sawyer told Mike that 'Mike, because of your inactivity. You haven't done any racing in five years." he aded

Meanwhile, the Daytona 500 is scheduled for February 16 at 2:30 PM ET. Catch the action live on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM's NASCAR channel.