Matthew Wallace (born October 24, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is a member of the Wallace family, which includes his father Mike and uncles Rusty and Kenny, each former NASCAR drivers who successfully competed in the sport for decades. His sister Chrissy and cousin Steve have both also had careers in NASCAR.
| Matt Wallace | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality |  American | ||||||
| Born | October 24, 1995 Concord, North Carolina | ||||||
| Related to | Mike Wallace (father) Rusty Wallace (uncle) Kenny Wallace (uncle) Chrissy Wallace (sister) Steve Wallace (cousin) | ||||||
| ARCA Racing Series career | |||||||
| Debut season | 2015 | ||||||
| Former teams | Kimmel Racing | ||||||
| Starts | 2 | ||||||
| Wins | 0 | ||||||
| Poles | 0 | ||||||
| Best finish | 73rd in 2015 | ||||||
| Finished last season | 73rd (2015) | ||||||
| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 2 races run over 1 year | |||||||
| 2015 position | 63rd | ||||||
| Best finish | 63rd (2015) | ||||||
| First race | 2015 Lakes Region 200 (New Hampshire) | ||||||
| Last race | 2015 U.S. Cellular 250 (Iowa) | ||||||
| |||||||
| Last updated on: January 21, 2020. | |||||||
Career
editARCA Racing Series
edit
Matt made his debut in stock cars in the ARCA race at Toledo Speedway, driving the No. 69 for Kimmel Racing,[1] where he would go on to finish tenth in that race. Mike Wallace was friends with team owner Bill Kimmel, which is how the deal was put together for Matt to race for Kimmel's ARCA team.[2] It was later revealed that he would return to the same car at IRP in July.[3]
Matt Wallace tested at ARCA's Daytona test session in January 2016 leading up to the race at the track in February. He drove the No. 22 Dodge for Cunningham Motorsports, sharing the car in the session with Kevin Thomas Jr, who was set to be the full-time driver of that car for the 2016 season. However, Wallace's crew chief Paul Andrews did state that Cunningham would try to field an additional car for him at Daytona if sponsorship could be found[4] (and it was not).
NASCAR Xfinity Series
editOn July 10, 2015, it was announced that Matt would make his debut in the Xfinity Series at the New Hampshire race later that month, driving for JGL Racing, the same team that his father Mike drove for in many races in 2014 as well as Daytona in 2015 and his uncle Kenny raced for earlier that year at Talladega. In addition, he was also scheduled to pilot the car at Iowa and other races yet to be determined,[5] although he only ended up driving at Iowa.
Although he made his debut in the series in 2015, Matt Wallace did have a chance to do so one season earlier, as at the Daytona night race in 2014. Mike Wallace, JGL, and his sponsor for that race, Smith Transportation, agreed that if Mike got a top-5 finish, the team would give Matt one race in the team's No. 93 car and he could pick which one.[6] Although his father did finish in the top-10 in the race, it was not a top-5, so Matt did not get to run for the team that year.
Late Model Racing
editHe has not made any NASCAR or ARCA starts since 2015, but he is still racing, competing in super late model events in the CARS Series, sometimes against his cousin Steve, who also now competes in CARS late models after competing full-time for several years in the Xfinity Series.[7] In 2019, he launched his own driver development program to give other drivers an opportunity to compete in super late models as well. His father Mike and late model car builder Robert Hamke assisted Matt in this effort.[8]
Personal life
editHe grew up in the Charlotte, North Carolina area (where the majority of race teams are based) although his family is from St. Louis. He started racing at age 8 in bandoleros. When he was 12 and 13, he raced legends cars, and then pro late models by the age of 14. When he made his debut in both ARCA and Xfinity in 2015, he was attending classes at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, and expressed a desire to attend UNC-Charlotte after graduating from RCCC, studying business administration at both schools.[9][10]
Motorsports career results
editNASCAR
edit(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Xfinity Series
edit| NASCAR Xfinity Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | NXSC | Pts | Ref | ||
| 2015 | JGL Racing | 26 | Toyota | DAY | ATL | LVS | PHO | CAL | TEX | BRI | RCH | TAL | IOW | CLT | DOV | MCH | CHI | DAY | KEN | NHA 33 |
IND | IOW 25 |
GLN | MOH | BRI | ROA | DAR | RCH | CHI | KEN | DOV | CLT | KAN | TEX | PHO | HOM | 63rd | 30 | [11] | ||
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
ARCA Racing Series
edit| ARCA Racing Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | ARSC | Pts | Ref | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Kimmel Racing | 69 | Ford | DAY | MOB | NSH | SLM | TAL | TOL 10 |
NJE | POC | MCH | CHI | WIN | IOW | IRP 13 |
POC | BLN | ISF | DSF | SLM | KEN | KAN | 73rd | 330 | [12] | ||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Matt Wallace to make ARCA debut at Toledo with Kimmel Racing". ARCARacing.com. May 12, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Buchanan, Mary Jo (May 8, 2015). "Matt Wallace Holds Legacy In His Hands". Popular Speed. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Moody, Dave (July 10, 2015). "Wallace, Boat Set For Series Debuts". Godfather Motorsports Blog. Blogspot.com. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Kelly, Godwin (January 16, 2016). "Mike Wallace showing son Matt how Daytona drafting works". Daytona Beach News Journal. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Caldwell, Clayton (July 16, 2015). "Matt Wallace to Make Xfinity Series Debut for JGL Racing at New Hampshire". Frontstretch. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ "Mike (Wallace) Driving for Matt (Wallace) at Daytona". Catchfence. July 2, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Evans, Zach (May 31, 2019). "Matt Wallace Looking to Continue Family Success at Bristol". Speed51.com. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Evans, Zach (2019). "Matt Wallace Launches Driver Development Program". MattWallaceRacing.com. WordPress. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ McFadin, Daniel (July 7, 2015). "Matt Wallace returning to ARCA at Lucas Oil Raceway". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Radebaugh, Don (July 22, 2015). "Matt Wallace returns with Kimmel Racing at LOR". ARCARacing.com. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ "Matt Wallace – 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
- ^ "Matt Wallace – 2015 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
External links
edit- Official website
- Matt Wallace driver statistics at Racing-Reference