Veteran NASCAR spotter drops three-word reaction to NASCAR’s decision on Mike Wallace’s 2025 Daytona 500 attempt

Brett Griffin, long-time NASCAR spotter, recently reacted to former NASCAR driver Mike Wallace's Daytona 500 cancelation by the governing body.

On Tuesday, January 14, NASCAR announced that 65-year-old Wallace would not be allowed to race in the 2025 Daytona 500. Wallace, who last raced in NASCAR’s top series in 2015, attempted to qualify for the 'Great American Race' with MBM Motorsports but was rejected due to the lack of recent experience in major professional motorsports.

Griffin, who worked with drivers like Clint Bowyer and Elliott Sadler, replied to Racer Magazine's Kelly Crandall's post on X and shared his disappointment about the news.

"Sad if true," Griffin wrote.

MBM Motorsports, the team that planned to field Wallace for the race, released a statement confirming the decision.

"MBM Motorsports can confirm that NASCAR has deemed Mike Wallace is not eligible to compete in the 2025 Daytona 500, despite eleven previous 500 starts and several superspeedway wins, due to lack of recent races in major professional motorsports."

Interestingly, the decision to block Wallace's entry to the Daytona 500 comes after NASCAR announced a new rule to increase the field to 41 instead of 40 cars for non-NASCAR drivers. This gave four-time Indy 500 winner, Helio Castroneves a direct entry to the season opener race this February. Castroneves will race as part of Trackhouse Racing's Project 91 with sponsorship from Wendy’s.

The Open Exemption Provisional (OEP) rule was criticized by some, who questioned its fairness and impact on qualifying race excitement.

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"This comes as a total shock" - Mike Wallace on NASCAR's disapproval for Daytona 500 entry

Mike Wallace is the younger brother of Rusty Wallace and the older brother of Kenny Wallace. He has eleven starts in the Daytona 500 between 1995 and 2015 with his best finish being fourth in 2007.

In a statement, Wallace, who hoped to be the second-oldest driver in the race, said that he might race in 2026 but can not compete in 2025. Mark Thompson, at 66 years, was the oldest driver to race in the Daytona 500 in 2018.

"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 rprocess to possibly get approved for 2026," Mike Wallace wrote.

"This comes as a total shock as the President of NASCAR last week in a real phone call told me all was good and he will see me in Daytona," he added.

Meanwhile, MBM Motorsports is now looking for another driver to fill the empty spot for their No. 66 car at the Daytona 500.