Amateur Race Car Drivers - Chasing the Spotlight

Four You Have Heard About
There are several young competitors already familiar to enthusiasts who follow the sport. There are four drivers in particular-Steve Wallace, Kyle Grissom, Matt Martin, and Joey Logano-who are already on the radar screen of top teams and safe bets to have a shot in NASCAR.

Wallace is the 18-year-old son of 1989 Winston Cup champion Rusty Wallace. This year, Steve is competing in limited NASCAR Busch Series races as well as various ARCA events. The young Wallace got his racing career started in the Legends Car events at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he became one of the top drivers in INEX history with multiple national championships. He also won the prestigious Summer Shootout at Lowe's Motor Speedway in addition to being a multiple INEX track champion at Concord Motorsport Park.

Wallace made headlines in December 2004 when he won the prestigious Snowball Derby, one of the biggest Late Model races in the country. He added another impressive victory to his resum last year at Michigan International Speedway when he scored a dominant win in his first ARCA start. Wallace scored his second ARCA win this year at Kentucky Speedway. In addition to his foray into Busch competition this season, Wallace is trying to talk his father into letting him move up to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.

Grissom also competed extensively in the small cars that INEX produces for the Summer Shootout at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The son of 1993 Busch Series champion Steve Grissom started racing go-karts at the age of 8. He moved to racing Bandoleros in 1998 before making the move to the Legends Car division in 2001. He has won numerous championships.

Grissom is 16 years old and will be entering his junior year of high school this fall, but on the weekends you will find the second-generation racer doing battle in the UARA Series. Grissom started racing in UARA for three races in 2004 before running the entire schedule in 2005, winning the Rookie of the Year award while finishing Third in the final point standings.

Grissom got the 2006 season started by winning at the historic Greenville-Pickens (South Carolina) Speedway and led the UARA championship standings early in the season. Because of NASCAR's age limit, Grissom-as well as Logano and Martin-won't be able to race until his 18th birthday.

Martin is another second-generation racer who got his racing career started in the Summer Shootout at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The son of Nextel Cup Series driver Mark Martin, the young Martin will be entering the ninth grade this fall. On the weekends, though, you'll find Matt Martin racing-and winning-in the FASCAR Pro-Cup Series.

Martin is also a regular at New Smyrna (Florida) Speedway in the track's Limited Late Model division. Martin is only 13 years old.

Logano has already caught the eyes of several Nextel Cup team owners, including Jack Roush and Joe Gibbs. Many thought the 16 year-old driver would sign a contract with Roush Racing, but he shocked more than a few people earlier this year when he signed a driver development deal with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Mark Martin calls Logano "the real deal."

Logano, a regular in the Gibbs Racing Oil entry in the Hooters Pro Cup Series, got started in competitive motorsports at the age of 5 when his father bought him a go-kart that was designed for a 10-year-old. The gas and brake pedals had to be adjusted so the young driver could reach them. After a successful stint in the Legends and Bandolero divisions, Logano is focused on winning the 2006 Hooters Pro Cup championship. He is the youngest driver to win in the history of the circuit.
-Jason Mitchell