Steve Wallace - His Father's Son

Steve turned 16 in 2003 and started the Late Model phase of his life. He found success that first year, winning the Friendship 500 in Elkin, North Carolina, in October. With his first victory behind him, Steve hit the road and raced in many of the high-profile end-of-year races, including the Snowball Derby in Pensacola, Florida.

The following year, Steve became a force to be reckoned with on the Late Model circuits while concentrating primarily on the tough UARA-STARS circuit, a touring series with events based in the Southeast. By the end of the season, he was not only the Rookie of the Year, he was also the dominant driver in the series, as the last four races of the season were nearly all Steve Wallace. He won the first-ever UARA-STARS race at Bristol, took a win at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville, and claimed the season finale at Coastal Plains Raceway in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

In all, during that four-race stretch, Steve had three wins, three pole positions, and three new track records. Although the regular season was over, he hadn't finished winning. He went back to Pensacola for the 2004 Snowball Derby and became the youngest winner in the history of the race.

By winning the Snowball Derby, Steve gained a lot of national attention and accomplished something his father was never able to do.

While he was winning on the racetrack, Steve was also, per Rusty's mandate, working in the shop every day. He was never going to be a star student in high school. In fact, most of his classroom time was spent thinking about the race car. But he was getting an education on the floor of the shop.

"It was OK by me," Steve says. "I really didn't know any other way. I didn't have a driver's license, so somebody would drive me to the shop in the morning or after school, then pick me up later. It was a lot of hard work, but I was learning what made the car tick. I would build them, paint them, and drive them. I like working on the chassis and the suspension and knowing what change in the car is a benefit. I know what I like in a car mechanically, and you can't know that without working on them."

Earlier in 2004, Rusty had opened up his new racing complex in Mooresville, North Carolina, and started a Busch Series team that operated out of it. Steve also moved his race cars into the new shop and started the '05 season with high hopes. He built a car to run in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series and had a very respectable season there. Despite several mechanical failures, he had three Top 10 finishes and ended up 20th in points in the Southern Division, which was good enough to qualify for a spot in the Championship Series.

But Steve had the most success on the bigger tracks. It was at Michigan in August where, just one day after his 18th birthday, Steve became the youngest winner in Michigan International Speedway's history, driving a Roger Penske Dodge to victory in an ARCA RE/MAX Series event, in what was Wallace's first start on a track larger than 1 mile. By the end of the season Steve had run in four ARCA events and came away with three Top 10 performances.

Steve also made his Busch Series debut at Memphis, driving one of his father's Dodges. He started the race in 11th Place and was headed for a Top 10 finish when he got caught up in a multicar accident. Despite the damage to his Top Flite Dodge, Steve finished the race in 15th position, still on the lead lap.

The '06 season was full of ups and downs. It was a year of great success in ARCA, as he entered eight races and had seven Top 10 finishes, including three wins.

"ARCA taught us a lot," Steve says. "I got used to longer, faster races and how the car changes over that time period. To win those types of races, I learned that you have to have patience. You don't have to lead every lap, but you have to be fast at the end. Just look at Frank Kimmel, that's how he wins all those races and championships."