The Indianapolis race weekend ended on Sunday with probably more stories than any other event in recent times. Coming back from it, NASCAR analysts, reporters, and media houses have been going berserk about the events that unfolded at the Speedway and the Indianapolis Raceway Park. Former racer and reporter to Fox NASCAR, Kenny Wallace, was no exception.

Speaking on his podcast that he has dubbed, “The Kenny Wallace Show”, the 59-year-old detailed a range of topics. The most expressive of them was his disappointment with the amount of limelight that was being thrown on International drivers in NASCAR. While he did seem to be enjoying the display that racers like Shane Van Gisbergen were putting on, he wasn’t quite a fan of the sweet spot that the racing community had for him and fellow International drivers.

NASCAR has its sights on going international

Starting off his podcast with an overview of what went on over the weekend, Kenny quickly got to the topic that he’d been longing to talk about. Mentioning that NASCAR listens and responds to his show, he talked about how Ben Kennedy, NASCAR’s Senior VP of Racing Development and Strategy, and the rest of the team at Daytona Beach have not made it a secret that they want to take the sport more international.

Unraveling by the day is NASCAR‘s idea to run a circuit up at Montreal in Canada next year. Reaffirming this, Kenny said that he’d raced there, but he wasn’t quite taking to the idea of considering it “going international”, since, in the man’s own words, “you just drive the car across the river”.

Though he wasn’t totally unaligned with the promotion’s purpose, he said, “That’s why they made this unbelievable deal all week long,” and went on to talk about what exactly it was that got him all riled up.

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“Aren’t you overdoing this?” asks Kenny, as the industry hyperventilates over Shane Van Gisbergen

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Over the weekend, NASCAR’s latest hotshot Shane Van Gisbergen broke yet another record with his second top-10 finish at Indianapolis. Driving the No. 91 Chevrolet at the road course for Trackhouse racing, the Kiwi International went on to claim the 10th spot at the finish line. With the industry’s talk about his scintillating win at the Chicago street course last month not dying down yet, SVG has now given everyone yet another point to talk about.

Going against the tides, Kenny Wallace seems like the one person who isn’t quite a fan of all the attention that SVG is getting. Carrying on further in his podcast about NASCAR’s recent obsession with all things international, he said, “Now, listen. I love SVG, Shane Van Gisbergen. He won the Chicago race. Wonderful guy, I love him. But it was like, ‘Aren’t you guys overdoing this a little bit?'”

“It’s just like every minute on the minute, ‘SVG going to the bathroom!’, ‘SVG walking out to his car!’. Bob Pockrass and those guys! I love them to death, but it’s kind of hyperventilating.”

A let-down Kenny did not forget to tread upon the other two international drivers who were alongside SVG at Indianapolis. “The number 33 Brodie Kostecki (…), and from Japan driving for Toyota the number 67 (…) The number 67 car of Kamui Kobayashi?, And then, Of course, uh, SVG. So we had three International Drivers and the media was losing their damn mind. I guess they’re looking for a free plane ticket for the next International race.”

Kenny Wallace’s opinion that the NASCAR community was acting a bit over the top when it came to international drivers might just not be totally unfair. Though he did underline the fact that he enjoyed watching them race, his frustration with watching everyone hyperventilating over the drivers all day long could be understood. Let us know what you make of his views in the comments box below!

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