He also makes his driving finale in Iowa XFINITY Series race
RELATED: Iowa to mark Wallace’s last start | Matt will race against uncle Kenny
The Iowa race weekend is becoming a Wallace family festival, with Kenny Wallace adding grand marshal for the #ThanksKenny 150 to his duties.
Wallace announced earlier that the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Iowa on Saturday, Aug. 1, would be his last start. And he will be joined in that race by fellow driver Matt Wallace, Kenny’s nephew and Mike’s son.
The US Cellular 250 presented by New Holland will be Matt Wallace‘s second start in a national series.
Kenny Wallace, the all-time leader in career NASCAR XFINITY Series starts (546), will say those famous words at the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East/West race Friday night, July 31 at 9 p.m. ET. The K&N Series also is honoring Wallace by naming the 150-miler the #ThanksKenny 150 as a tribute to Wallace’s 26-year NASCAR career.
“When Kenny revealed that his last NASCAR race would come at Iowa Speedway, we gave serious thought to how we could best recognize his accomplishments. We knew we had to put together a celebration as big as his personality,” said Iowa Speedway President Jimmy Small. “It doesn’t get much bigger than having a race named in your honor. That is something that will live on as long as we keep records, and Kenny Wallace is a person who is truly deserving of that distinction.”
As grand marshal, Wallace will say the four most famous words in racing — “Drivers, start your engines!” prior to the start of the race. Following the race, Wallace will be in Casey’s General Stores Victory Lane to present the trophy to the winner.
“I love connecting with fans from all over the world on social media sites, so when I was told about the hashtag (#ThanksKenny), it really made me smile and laugh at the same time,” said Wallace, who announced on Twitter he would be piloting the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing at the in the U.S. Cellular 250 Presented by New Holland (Aug. 1, 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, MRN, SiriusXM).
“I’m really excited to give the command to ‘start your engines’ on Friday night. That’s definitely something new for me,” Wallace said. “But I already have a plan on how I’m going to say it, and of course it will be funny.”
Wallace has served as a NASCAR analyst for FOX Sports, appearing on FOX Sports 1’s “NASCAR RaceDay” and “NASCAR Victory Lane” programs. He also does a “Herman Unplugged” feature, offering his opinions on the hot topics in the sport, for NASCAR Illustrated that appears on NASCAR.com.
The No. 20 XFINITY Series car has seen five drivers take turns behind the wheel this season for JGR. Erik Jones has made nine starts, Matt Kenseth three, Denny Hamlin three and Ross Kenseth and David Ragan have each made one start in the car. Jones won at Texas, while Hamlin won at Richmond and New Hampshire.