Kenny Wallace says he's a big fan of Jodie Foster. Credit: Autostock

10 Questions: K. Wallace

NASCAR's clown prince on the importance of family -- and sweet tea

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- To many followers and insiders in NASCAR racing, Kenny "Herman" Wallace is the sport's current clown prince -- a guy who's ready to throw out a quick quip as fluidly as he'll throw down a quick lap.

But Wallace, the younger brother of former Cup champion Rusty Wallace and current Busch Series regular Mike Wallace, is a serious racer as well -- a fact borne out by his plan to compete in the full Busch and Nextel Cup Series in 2007.

	Inside the Numbers Kenny Wallace in the Cup Series Starts 321 Wins 0 Top-fives 6 Top-10s 27 Poles 3 Laps Run 88,977 Laps Led 252 Earnings $13,588,302 Avg. Start 24.1 Avg. Finish 25.5 In the Busch Series Starts 374 Wins 9 Top-fives 63 Top-10s 156 Poles 10 Laps Run 70,672 Laps Led 1,070 Earnings $6,333,067 Avg. Start 14.3 Avg. Finish 15.0

Heading into this weekend's races at Richmond International Raceway, Herman has been locked in a season-long battle to remain in the top 10 in the Busch standings driving ppc Racing's No. 22 Ford, while also attempting most of the Nextel Cup races in Furniture Row Racing's No. 78 Chevy.

During a break between on-track sessions at Bristol Motor Speedway, Wallace took a break to answer 10 questions not necessarily connected to his racing career.

1. What's at the bottom of your "Honey Do" list?

Wallace: I know this sounds bad, but what's at the bottom of my "Honey Do" list is to spend more time with my honey. You know, I have so much stuff to do that I feel like I don't have enough time for my wife, Kim.

So I have to take her everywhere with me. But that's the nature of our business during racing season.

2. If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be, and why?

Wallace: Well, I don't really care about being famous, because I already am [insert Wallace laugh]. I don't really care about being wealthy, because I already am [insert bigger Wallace laugh].

Man, I'll tell you what -- I'd like to trade places with somebody at a spa. Not really nobody famous, now, but I'd like to be pampered for about a day.

So I guess I'd like to trade places with a movie star that's being pampered all day at one of those spas out in Arizona or L.A. -- but most likely Arizona because those guys have got some kick-butt spas out there.

3. What is the most embarrassing moment you'll own up, either in or out of racing?

Wallace: I've done a lot of embarrassing things -- for all of us. But, oh gosh -- I'm trying to think of what is the most embarrassing thing that I've ever done.

I think the most embarrassing thing I've ever done in auto racing, which nobody ever noticed, was that I ran out of brakes at South Boston [Va.] in my early days in the Busch Series.

So instead of shutting the motor off and coasting in [to the pits], I thought that somehow if I just ran the car into the stacked-up tires in the pit area [that I would stop].

I couldn't get the car stopped, so I just ran into about two stacks of tires that went flying everywhere and about killed my wife. They missed my wife's head by about a foot.

So that was very embarrassing for me. There have probably been some other things, but that was just ridiculous.

4. Which athlete outside of racing do you most admire?

Wallace: Oh, that's simple [for a St. Louis guy]. It's Albert Pujols, the first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals.

I admire him because he really, truly is a two-dimensional person. He does a lot for people outside his profession. He's from the Dominican Republic and comes from a hard-working family and he doesn't act like he makes $11 million a year.

And he's a damn good player. It's absolutely something that a lot of other athletes could stand to emulate -- or try to. I think what I like a lot about Albert is that he's very nice to everybody.

Albert will never tell you to get away or anything like that. He's just really soft-spoken and a super good guy. He always wants to make you feel important but he's just a really good person.

5. What's one thing your fans don't know about you, that you'd like to tell them?

Wallace: That I'm very serious and I actually pay my own bills. I take care of my own money. That's it.

6. What is No. 1 on your life's to do list?

Wallace: It's very simple and I don't even have to think about it -- I'm just trying to figure out how to say it correctly.

It's to make sure that my kids and my wife are taken care of, and that they have a happy life. Really, truthfully, that's all that it is.

I don't want to fail them because I come from the old days, where the man takes care of the wife. Do you know what I mean?

My wife has put so much time into this and my kids have sacrificed so much for me, racing, that when I finally slow down I want them to be able to enjoy what I've earned.

I'd love to be able to take all the money that I've earned because of auto racing and to spend it all on them. That's very important to me.

7. It could be in racing, it could be anywhere, but who is your No. 1 TV personality?

Wallace: You know, I really do like Mad TV, and I like Saturday Night Live. Are we talking a sports personality, news -- an actor or actress?

I really like Jodie Foster a lot. And not just because I think she's pretty. I think she's a hell of an actress. If you could ask my wife, Kim right now who's Kenny's favorite actress, she'd tell you Jodie Foster.

I just think that lady has got it all together. I think that she's a good actress; I think she's mature and she plays a lot of different roles. I just like the way that she handles herself.

My favorite Jodie Foster role would have to be with Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs [insert Wallace laugh]. Unbelievable.

8. What were your first job and your most vivid memory of it?

Wallace: My first job was working for Arnold Rooter out of Arnold, Mo. Our account was with Southwestern Bell, the telephone company, and my job was to go down into downtown St. Louis and lift open the manhole lids and maintain the manholes where the telephone lines were spliced.

So some of my friends might see me on a 30-degree day in downtown St. Louis, but when you got down there [in the manholes] it was, like, 60 degrees, year-round.

I've also pumped poop out of septic tanks, which was another deal they did. I've repaired vacuum cleaners, but that was my very first job.

My biggest memory of that was going down in those holes. There was no poop or pee in those, which was good -- but sometimes they'd fill up with water, so you'd lift the manhole lid up and look down and it would be full of water.

So the first thing I'd have to do is pump it out. Then I'd have to put a blower in there because sometimes those manholes were close to gas stations and you might have a gas leak and you'd be exposed to fumes.

But my job was to maintain them and I did a lot of that.

9. What is your biggest vice?

Wallace: Awww, too much caffeine, and sugar, for sure. I love sweet tea and Pepsi and Mountain Dew. That's it. If people are worried about that wired personality -- that's it, that's the answer.

That's for sure. I really wish I could drink better liquids, but I really love sweet tea.

10. If you could go back in time, what period in history would you like to live in, and why?

Wallace: There's no doubt that I'd like to live back in the Happy Days era -- back in the '50s -- back with Fonzie.

I think it was the hot rods and the challenge of 'how fast could you go?' It was the drag racing and stopping to get you some cheeseburgers and somebody coming up on roller skates to take your order.

I know those probably weren't any better times than what we're living in now, but it seems like now we try to emulate those days, where back then they were sincere about pulling up in their hot rod.

All the kids back then had hot rods that they worked on themselves. Nowadays everybody goes and buys 'em. So I just think that when I watch it and remember it -- you know, I was born in '63, but I just really like those times.

My hot rod would most likely be a '55 or '56 Chevrolet or some type of Nova or Malibu. I really like the Chevrolet products, with the Cragars. They looked good.

Colors? I'm a really happy guy. I think that black looked good, but I like blue and orange because I'm a happy guy. Yellow is a little bit too bright, but probably a really nice coral blue -- because every once in a while I'll see a really nice coral blue -- but they're hard to find, though.