Steve Wallace started in the top ten seven times in 2006, he didn't finish there once. Credit: Eric Francis/Getty Images

Consistency key for Wallace to find success

19-year-old son of legend begins first full season in Busch Series

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- As last season came to a close, Rusty Wallace Inc. wasn't 100 percent sure they would have enough money to run the full 2007 Busch Series season.

A partial schedule seemed possible. At the very least, the team had the money to run the first few months, but after that, nothing was certain. The team finally found the money needed this week, and Steve Wallace breathed a sigh of relief.

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"There was a chance it might have been a partial schedule," Wallace said Friday when Busch Series testing got under way at Daytona International Speedway. "We are pretty good on funding right now. That really helped us out."

Wallace, 19, is set for his first full season in the Busch Series, and with father Rusty busy trying to make a name for himself as an analyst with ESPN, the younger Wallace's paychecks are now signed by his mother, Patti.

He endured a frustrating and wreck-filled campaign in 2006, a season in which he consistently qualified well and consistently failed to finish on the lead lap.

"It has truly been up and down," Wallace said. "Ran good, ran bad. I think I got all the wrecking out of the system."

The team, entering its fourth season, is pinning its immediate future on Wallace, who won a pair of ARCA races before his 19th birthday.

Wallace watched as Jamie McMurray drove his father's Dodge for most of the 2006 season. The car performed well at times -- McMurray had four top-five finishes in the car -- but Wallace had trouble battling the two dozen Nextel Cup regulars that infiltrated the Busch Series every week.

"The Busch Series is tough right now, and I am trying to learn as quick as I can," Wallace said. "In my opinion, Truck Series is like running away from the competition.

"Don't get me wrong. The Truck Series is really tough, but I think Busch is just as tough as Nextel Cup."

	Too many times in 2006, Steve Wallace's day went up in smoke. Credit: Brian Bahr/Getty Images
	Stats at a Glance Wallace's 2006 Busch stats Race Start Finish Bristol 3 33 Nashville 35 12 Richmond 20 28 Dover 9 38 Nashville 28 15 Kentucky 7 11 Milwaukee 5 25 Martinsville 11 35 Gateway 4 31 ORP 26 30 Michigan 16 24 Dover 9 21 Kansas 19 24 Memphis 28 20 Texas 37 31 Phoenix 36 16 Homestead 9 22 Average 17.8 24.5

That is why Wallace says he isn't in any hurry to give Nextel Cup a chance. Translation: He doesn't want to fail.

"I am not going to do [Nextel Cup] until I am ready," Wallace said. "I don't feel like I am ready for that now. I don't even want to attempt it.

"A lot of young drivers are doing it, and in my opinion, they are going to ruin their careers, because it is just going to make them look bad. Hopefully, when I am ready, someone else will be ready to hire me."

Wallace is probably overly cautious because he has specific career goals. His one-track mind has been on racing at the Cup level since he was in grade school.

"I have worked hard to get where I am at my whole life," Wallace said. "I never played any sports or anything. I started racing when I was 7 years old."

RWI: Following Mom's lead

With a half-year of experience, Wallace knows it won't be much easier in 2007, but there are some bright spots, mainly in the team infrastructure.

RWI changed its number from 64 back to 66, which was the team's number when it initially began Busch competition in 2004.

The team has veteran crew chief Bryant Frazier back, and car chief Steve Darne, the man who was Wallace's ARCA crew chief, was retained as well. Over the off-season, RWI revamped its pit crew, making changes to both carrier positions. The team also changed its front tire changer.

The team has 32 employees, not counting mother Patti.

"She goes to the shop every day," Wallace said. "She signs the paychecks, she pays for the parts, and she does the whole deal. We have 20 racecars and three buildings. We have got a huge operation, and Mom runs that deal.

"Racing is the family, and I am trying my hardest to continue that."

Drive smarter not harder

Wallace qualified well during his brief Busch foray in 2006 -- he qualified ninth or better seven times -- but he too often made critical mistakes early in the race.

After each instance, he was lectured by his father.

"It was not necessarily a mad thing," Wallace said. '[He was] just like, 'You need to think better before you do stuff.'

"I went to Dover and qualified well and got into a wreck on Lap 10, being stupid. He pretty much reminded me what is wrong and right.

"This is racing. You're expected to wreck cars and tear stuff up every now and then."