Wallace earns his job on and off the track

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March 14, 2012

[media-credit name=”theautochannel.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Kenny Wallace has had a roller coaster of a career, highlighted by pushing Dale Earhardt Sr. to his final victory at Talladega over a decade ago. The 48 year old from St. Louis, Missouri, is in a fight to keep himself behind the wheel for one final season in the Nationwide Series.

It is well documented that Wallace doesn’t get paid. He drives for the underfunded RAB Racing with Brack Maggard in the No. 09 Toyota Camry.

Throughout his time at RAB Racing, Wallace has done it all.

Performing on the track gave the veteran driver a chance to do it all over again in 2012. Unfortunately, the sponsorship he originally obtained, backed out the last second just before the Nationwide Series race at Phoenix.

Rumors swirled around as his job was and still is in jeopardy. Reports across numerous media panels believed Wallace had finished his career. But, he did not give up.
With the use of his widely spread Twitter and Facebook pages, Wallace was on a mission.

As the past two weeks progressed, so did Wallace’s on-track performance. He qualified third at Phoenix, the best qualifying effort in RAB Racing’s history. Though he was unable to finish the race due to an accident, Wallace raised many eyebrows.

This past weekend at Las Vegas, Wallace contended for a top ten position throughout the day. Ultimately, he finished 11th, an impressive bounce back for Wallace as he continued to search for a sponsor.

How does this help Wallace’s case though? Sponsors didn’t want him when he was running in the top ten every week, why would they want him now?
I’ll tell you why.

Kenny Wallace is a man like no other. His beyond extraordinary personality is thrilling for races fans. If one was to go onto Twitter and see what Kenny Wallace was up to, you wouldn’t just see what he’s doing, you would see him respond to numerous fans on a daily basis.

Over the past few seasons, Wallace has become more interactive with the fans. Well, at least more than he already was.

A fan favorite for years, Wallace can spread the word of a company to thousands of people in the matter of seconds. One company has already taken a pledge to help out Wallace as well as expand their branding.

MAC Tools, an often used tool supplier throughout the NASCAR garage area, will sponsor Wallace for the Nationwide Series race this weekend at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
Wallace and team owner Robby Benton collaborated to break the news to fans as they posted it on their respective Twitter accounts.

“@Mac_Tools:……I am SO Thankful….. @Mac_Tools is proud to be teaming with @Kenny_Wallace and @RobbyBenton at Bristol on Saturday!” tweeted Wallace in an enthusiastic way.

Wallace got fans involved as well. In a matter of several hours of the announcement, fans across the nation wrote about MAC Tools and how great it is for them to sponsor a driver that doesn’t even get paid.

Few drivers can be compared to Wallace. His determination to find a sponsor via social media propelled him to achieve his goal.

A race car driver that advertises himself on Twitter could seem crazy to numerous people, but for Kenny Wallace, a man hunting for victory in his possible final year as a NASCAR driver, it is one more opportunity to show his great talents.

The Numbers for Bristol Motor Speedway

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March 14, 2012

Tommy Baldwin Racing Partners with Tradebank; David Reutimann will pilot the No. 10 Tradebank Chevrolet at Bristol

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March 14, 2012

Roush Fenway Advance: Bristol

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March 14, 2012

Newman Makes Animal Friends, Talks Racing At Martinsville Speedway

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March 14, 2012

NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: RACING AND LAS VEGAS BELONGS IN THE SAME SENTENCE

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SM Staff

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March 14, 2012

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The recently completed NASCAR weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway was clearly evident that this race track, along with the city of Las Vegas, clearly understands how to cater to every need and want a racing fan could ever have. It was also absolute proof that the words racing and Las Vegas belongs in the same sentence.

The following are just a few major “bullet Points” to support the theory:

An estimated 150,000 were on hand to watch the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series run the Kobalt Tools 400. In this day and age, there aren’t many tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule that can make that claim.

An estimated 70,000 were on hand to watch the very exciting Sams Town 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway offered its fans a special package that combined reserved seating with the special amenities of visiting their Neon Garage, a spectacular opportunity to see the cars, drivers and race team members up close. One of these packages even allowed fans to sit in on the Sprint Cup driver’s meeting, a first time ever experience. Commenting on that rare fan access was Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Senior vice President of Racing Operations, who said: “the entire NASCAR community has always worked closely to ensure that we are the most fan friendly sport. This is another terrific example of a race track providing fans with access that is unprecedented in sports.”

The racing at Las Vegas was not just limited to the speedway’s 1.5 mile oval. Fans who arrived earlier in the week were treated to some Wednesday and Thursday night action at the facility’s famed one half mile dirt track. The two days of dirt tracking featured red hot action from the West Coast Late Model Shootout, the IMCA Modifieds, the West Coast 360 Sprint Car Showdown as well as a special appearance by the famed World Of Outlaw Sprint Car Series.

There was plenty of fan friendly activity off of the race track in Las Vegas as well. That included an unusually high amount of NASCAR driver personal appearances. Three solid days of scheduled appearances gave fans the opportunity to meet their favorite drivers while collecting autographs and photos.

The Las Vegas hotels and casino did their typical outstanding job of catering to the needs of the racing fans that visited their city. There were plenty of special accommodation packages loaded with special amenities. There was also a full schedule of special shows and concerts scheduled during the NASCAR week to keep the fans well entertained when they were not at the track.

This city’s willingness to use an over the top, what can we do for you, approach towards the racing fans who visit was a major factor that led to NASCAR’s decision to move their annual awards banquet from New York to Las Vegas.

Now that the action of NASCAR in Las Vegas has concluded, what’s next for Las Vegas racing fans? The Las Vegas Motor Speedway has already made that move by offering fans free admission to two days of legend car racing at the Bullring, a three eighths of a mile oval located within the racing complex. The March 17th and 18th action features the U.S. Legend Cars International’s Spring Sizzler Series. Yes, you read that right: admission is free.

Over the years the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the city they call home, has clearly proven they know how to promote racing and how to take care of their fans. There’s only one question remaining: when is this race track going to receive the second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series date they so richly deserve?