Mike Wallace was one unhappy man after NASCAR denied him an entry to the Daytona 500 last year. Citing his lack of recent racing activity on intermediate and larger tracks, the stock car racing body did not allow him to return to the sport where he had over 800 starts across three national series races. Back then, he had said, “[NASCAR] could go through [their] process to possibly get approved for 2026.” So is he going for it again?

At the time, besides his inactivity in racing, the NASCAR officials also took cognizance of Wallace’s age. From then, a year has passed, and Wallace, who’s 66 now, has not shown a sign of returning to NASCAR. And since it’s less than a month left for the big race, fans want it to stay that way.

Mike Wallace’s lack of effort

After NASCAR denied him from racing for MBM Motorsports in the Daytona 500 of the Cup Series, Mike Wallace was furious and shocked. Despite getting the call from the NASCAR President in person, he could not make it to the Crown Jewel race.

His full statement was, “To my utter shock and devastation at 4:00 today NASCAR competition director Elton Sawyer called me to inform me that NASCAR has decided to not only approve me for the Daytona 500 but at this time not approved to race in the Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series in 2025 but could go through [their] process to possibly get approved for 2026.”

“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,” Wallace added on Facebook after the denial. However, NASCAR did not rule out an entry for the veteran if he ticked all the boxes in 2026.

Despite this, Wallace’s actions spoke otherwise as the veteran racing driver did not make efforts to return this season, either, which he could have as it was instructed to him.

Back in 2011, Wallace last raced in the Truck Series. Four years later, in 2015, he made his last Cup Series appearance. His comeback attempt last year would have seen him drive a Cup race in 10 years and his first time sitting in a Next Gen car.

However, his latest race in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series came in 2020, the year he made three starts for JD Motorsports, but it was still six years ago. With barely any NASCAR experience in recent times and no experience with the Next Gen cars (which rolled out in 2022), NASCAR’s stand on Mike Wallace was justified for many.

Even for young drivers, the Next Gen cars are a menace. Over the years, the drivers have repeatedly complained about the cars for being too heavy, having narrow aerodynamic windows, snappy ends, and less downforce compared to older generation cars, especially from Mike Wallace’s era.

As a result, a section of fans lauded the governing body’s decision to keep the 66-year-old driver away from racing in the Cup Series in the Daytona 500. Especially considering his and fellow drivers’ safety.

On the other hand, NASCAR allowed Helio Castroneves, the Brazilian 50-year-old driver, to race in the same race last year.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would enter a NASCAR race and certainly not the Daytona 500 with a team like Trackhouse Racing. This is an opportunity that nobody in their right mind could ever turn down,” he had said.

Castroneves, who participated in his maiden Cup Series race last year, has IndyCar and Champ Car racing experience. Castroneves’ recent and high-level racing activity gave NASCAR confidence, but Wallace’s long hiatus couldn’t convince them of safety and age-related concerns.

Despite this, fans expected him to make amends and come back with all the necessary steps completed after losing the chance to appear in the Daytona 500 last year. But since Wallace didn’t do that, he’s left the fans outraged.

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Fans want Mike Wallace to keep distance from Daytona 500

As the 2026 Daytona 500 approaches, fans on social media are asking if Mike Wallace is returning. But from Wallace’s side, there were no talks about entering races to qualify or efforts to race in other series.

“NASCAR provided him with a road map to run the 500 this year if he made starts at other tracks first, just like Casey Mears has done over the past year to run it again. Instead, he resorted to crying on social media, and I honestly couldn’t care less if he ever runs a NASCAR-sanctioned race again.”

Another fan wrote on the same line and mentioned how Wallace shared his thoughts on Facebook last year. Despite the post and the denial, the fan did not see any improvement from Wallace. He wrote, “He’ll probably try to enter again, get denied again, then play a victim again.”

“Considering he’s pushing 70, I would say that was probably the end of the road for him. Unless he has money to fund a Truck/O’Reilly team, I doubt there are many teams looking to humor a journeyman, who’s eligible for SS, just to get him seat time,” wrote another fan, mentioning how Mike Wallace is too old to enter the Daytona 500, the most prestigious and stressful Cup Series race of the season.

One had an interesting reaction, where they shared their intrusive thoughts and wrote, “Nah, and he should stay away from the sport.”

As of mid-January, Mike Wallace has yet to make an effort to enter the race. With just a month to go before the mega race gets underway, it is very unlikely that we will see him racing at the World Center of Racing.