Another racing Wallace on the horizon

Rusty's teenage son starting to turn heads

LONG POND, Pa. -- Rusty Wallace was only too happy Saturday at Pocono Raceway to sing the praises of his youngest son, Stephen, a budding 15-year-old race car driver.

The latest step in Stephen Wallace's young career came when he finished eighth in an ill-handling car Friday night in a USAR/Stars Late Model event at Tri-County Speedway in Hudson, N.C.

Rusty said Saturday that Stephen and his friends work on the car, but they set it up too loose for the race. That was fine, Rusty told his son, because "if the car was perfect he wouldn't learn nothing."

Rusty is clearly enthusiastic about Stephen's potential. But others are apparently taking notice, too.

"I know he's got what it takes," Rusty said. "He's got so much of what it takes Richard Childress has been talking to me seriously about him. He'd love to put Steve in a Busch car as soon as he turns of age (18)."

Wallace joked at Daytona recently that Childress had signed his son to a "contract." Problem is, it was allegedly on a $100 bill, and the younger Wallace spent it.

"Steve has won so many Bandolero races and ran so good in the Legend cars -- he's got a lot of natural talent," Rusty said. "He does all his setups, welding, painting. He's got a couple of good helpers. He does an incredible job (and) I'm real proud of him because he's just got natural talent.

"A lot of these guys are good drivers, and they don't work on their own cars. In the long run, if you don't have the right crew chief or chassis guy around you, you're not going to be able to do it unless you understand the car."