From fixing cars as a teen to winning his first race in the 1982 Illinois Street Stock State Championship, Kenny Wallace always approached the track with precision, not flash. His 25-year NASCAR career, which included nine Xfinity wins and Rookie of the Year honors in 1989, showed a driver who thrived on mature decisions and steady hands. Yet beneath that calm mindset lies a man who’s never shied from calling out the sport’s wild side.

As he chats with old pal Ken Schrader on their podcast, Wallace shares thoughts that break the racing stereotype that got built around the macho mindset. But what blunt message did he give that sets him apart from so-called daredevils?

Kenny Wallace believes in smartness, not showmanship

In a recent Herm and Schrader podcast episode, Wallace laid it out bluntly while reflecting on cornering risks.

“I thought I was doing dangerous things, and I could die, but I never drove a car thinking I was going to die,” he said, distancing himself from any ‘daredevil’ label.

This came when he himself questioned if some racers see high-speed turns as a benchmark to test their bravery, like spotting “Jesus” in the chaos. Wallace acknowledges his mindset that it focused more on geometry, like entering corners at perfect angles to exit with maximum speed without wrecking his car. And this mindset echoed throughout his career, where he notched 173 Xfinity top-10s without any reckless dives.

Ken Schrader joined the conversation by agreeing he eased off after sensing trouble: “I always let off right before I think something bad’s gonna happen.”

This nod highlights a veteran code, where an experienced driver often lifts his leg from the accelerator pad the moment he senses trouble is about to come. And Wallace agrees with these tactics, as his early days were spent wrenching for brothers Rusty and Mike on Midwestern tracks.

Back then, family races taught survival through strategy, not heroics, which helped Kenny get a solid P11 in his debut race in the Busch Series in 1988. Their talk reveals a split in racing mindset in the garage: one side grips the wheel with measured risks, while the other treats laps like daredevil stunts to chase maximum thrills, often crossing the limit line sometimes.

Wallace has slammed this divide before, especially after Ryan Preece’s scary 2023 Daytona flip. On his YouTube show, he fired back at fans who were saying drivers must “be prepared to die.”

“Racing is dangerous; you should be prepared to die. Well, it’s dangerous, but nobody wants to die.”

He stressed knowing injury’s possible, but death? “Hell no. I’m not going to get in a race car knowing I’m gonna die!”

This ties to NASCAR’s safety leap from its 1989 face-open helmets to Next Gen cars that let Preece walk out alive after 10 nerve-wracking air flips. Wallace credits these changes for saving lives, as NASCAR has already lost a few icons like Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the 90s at Daytona.  This point by Wallace proves evolution favors the cautious.

As Wallace eyes the track ahead, his words hint at bigger storms brewing beyond the turns.

Wallace warns of a “dark day” for NASCAR

Wallace, ever the straight shooter, now turns his gaze to NASCAR’s ongoing shaky days because of an antitrust lawsuit from teams. And if that lawsuit was not enough to make the days shaky for NASCAR, the leaked disrespectful text messages of NASCAR executives added fuel to it.

Now insiders whisper of canceled Daytonas or even the splitting of NASCAR, fueling garage panic as $1 billion TV deals hang in shadow. Wallace, loyal to the France family that shaped his path, feels the weight but speaks out anyway.

“So here we are. This is a dark day for NASCAR,” Wallace said in a social media video, noting phone calls are not stopping from the worried folks to get an update on the situation.

“Everybody’s starting to panic. ‘Are we going to Daytona next year? What happens if the judge says it’s monopolistic practices?’ In the worst scenario.”

He recalls the iron-fisted eras of Bill France Sr. and Jr., when one family’s rule kept order like a “dictatorship.”

As NASCAR has become a billion-dollar sport, Wallace questions if it’s outgrown them.

“NASCAR has got so big that it has outgrown them,” he added. “Is it time for NASCAR to sell to NBC? I mean, Fox bought a third of Roger Penske’s IndyCar. If Fox TV can buy a third of IndyCar, if Liberty Media Group can own Formula 1, has the sport of NASCAR got so big that it has passed NASCAR, the family?”

Drawing from F1’s media overhaul and IndyCar’s Fox stake, Wallace sees a path to stability through outside hands, much like his own shift from mechanic to driver because of Dale Earnhardt’s 1988 given opportunity. Yet he hopes cooler heads prevail before his feared NASCAR split happens.