As seen in the Chronicle Herald
When Mark Martin calls, you better answer.
Earlier this year, the NASCAR Hall of Fame driver made a rare phone call to stock car fan favourite Kenny Wallace to tell him about the IWK 250 at Riverside International Speedway in James River.
Martin, the celebrity racer in last year’s IWK 250, lauded about the crown jewel of the Nova Scotia stock car season and eventually convinced Wallace to get behind the wheel for this Saturday’s race.
“Mark is a good friend of mine and he texted me, ‘I have to talk to you,’” Wallace recalled during an interview Thursday morning outside the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. “I was like, wow, something must be really big because Mark never wants to talk on the phone.
“Sure enough, it was probably six months ago and we were all out in California for the NASCAR race and I never heard Mark brag so much. He said, ‘Kenny you got to go to Nova Scotia and run Riverside Speedway.’ He said, ‘the people are wonderful, the race track is beautiful, it’s a first-class facility.’ When Mark Martin calls you and wants you to do something, you say OK. That’s how it all started.”
Wallace, the younger brother of NASCAR legend Rusty Wallace, retired from a 25-year NASCAR driving career in 2015. He started in 905 races in NASCAR’s top three series and holds the all-time record for the most starts in the Xfinity Series.
The St. Louis, Mo., native is a member of the Fox Sports Racing broadcast team and his popularity among racing fans was on full display at the IWK.
As part of his visit to Nova Scotia, Wallace mingled with children and their parents as the kids scribbled their names on his race car — the No. 18 Cat Car for Kids — which he will drive Saturday evening.
Wallace and Martin are among a long line of celebrity drivers to compete in the IWK 250. That list includes: Matt Crafton, Regan Smith, Marcos Ambrose, Brad Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Joey Logano, David Reutimann and Ricky Craven.
“I’ve been incredibly blessed to meet the love of my life, my wife who’ve I’ve known since I was 15 years old. We have three healthy daughters. But no matter what, I believe in paying it forward,” Wallace said. “I’ve always been like that.
“Anytime you see children, or you see people who need help, you have to help. But when you have it all and things are going good for you, you need to look around and see who can I help?
“I think it’s our job every year as a driver, whether it’s Brad Keselowski, Mark Martin, Regan Smith, Matt Crafton, to pay it forward and call the next person. So I’m sure I’ll be calling the next driver for next year.”
Since its launch in 2007, the IWK 250 has helped raise more than $500,000 for the health centre.
But as charitable as he seems, the competitive juices will flow when Wallace once he climbs into his car.
He will drive for Antigonish’s Nova Racing stable, teaming up with ’16 race winner and track owner Donald Chisholm, as he looks to become just the second celebrity driver to take the checkered flag (Smith was victorious in 2008).
“With the compassion comes a competitive spirit,” Wallace said. “I want to run competitive. I don’t think I’m nervy enough to say, ‘hey I’m going to win.’ But all I want to do is be real competitive.
“The great Dale Earnhardt Sr. — who was a good friend of mine who let me drive my very first NASCAR race car — once taught me that there are thousands of great race car drivers all over the world but they all can’t be NASCAR.
“At Riverside Speedway, there’s going to be some great race car drivers. So for me to show up and say because I run NASCAR I’ll out run everyone, well that’s just crazy. These guys are really good and I know that.”
Five former IWK 250 champions — Dylan Blenkhorn (2017), Chisholm (2016), John Flemming (2012, 2014), Ken Vincent (2010, 2015) and Darren MacKinnon (2011) — are among the 37 drivers entered in the race.
It’s also the sixth event of the Parts for Trucks Pro Stock Tour season. Defending series champion Cole Butcher of Porter’s Lake (1,061 points) holds a 34-point lead on Enfield’s Shawn Turple (1,027) in the championship points standings. Terence Bay’s Craig Slaunwhite (1,017) and Truro’s Blenkhorn (1,016) are close behind.
The race will also feature two drivers from the NASCAR Pintys Series, Jason Hathaway and J.R. Fitzpatrick.
Hathaway, who’s running a part-time schedule on the Pintys Series with select late model races, was a winner at Riverside in 2013, when the national racing circuit was known as the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.
The Stouffville, Ont., driver is a fan of the 1/3-mile, high banked oval on the outskirts of Antigonish.
“I’ve been to most short tracks in Canada and I would say Riverside is tops in the country.” Hathaway said on Thursday
“It has high banks and everyone wants that in Canada. There’s only one other track in Canada that probably competes with Riverside Speedway and that’s Jukasa (Motor Speedway near Cayuga, Ont.). But that’s 5/8ths of a mile, real fast, but I’m a short track guy at heart.
“We were lucky to win the NASCAR race five years ago at Riverside,” he added. “But the IWK 250 is in a class of its own. There are 37-38 cars trying to win on Saturday. If we can bring a good car to the track and have a little luck on our side, we should be in good shape.”
