By Tim Packman
GAFFNEY, S.C. – Veteran NASCAR driver and four-time NASCAR Xfinity Series winner Mike Wallace and JD Motorsports w/Gary Keller have reunited to race the inaugural NXS race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The event scheduled for Saturday, July 4 will be the first NASCAR race on the IMS road course, which is now owned by Roger Penske. For Wallace, this will be his third time as part of NASCAR history at the iconic speedway. This is also a reunion for driver and team after they paired together for the 2009 to 2013 seasons.
“Johnny and I have kept in touch through the years and always talked about opportunities to race together again,” Wallace said. “I had a thought a few weeks ago of where I would like to race and we put the deal together.
“On a historic note, I was part of the first Brickyard 400 with Junie Donleavy in 1994. I raced the first IMS Xfinity event in 2012 driving for JDM. And now, I’m going to add another footnote to my career being in the first Xfinity race on the road course.
“Making it even more special is this will be new under the track’s new ownership of Roger Penske. In 2001, he gave me a great opportunity when I raced eight times for him and he’s just an incredible individual. When I sent a text letting him know I’d be in this race he thought it was great news.”
Wallace has experienced great results in Indianapolis before. He won the 1994 NXS race at Indianapolis Raceway Park as one of his four-career series victories. This will be the first start for him since 2015 when he had to stop racing unexpectedly.
“I had some undetected heart problems that year which led to a fast surgery to fix me up,” Wallace reflected. “As part of it, I had to get out of a race car to have that life-saving procedure and recover properly. I’ve wanted to race since then and now that I am back to 100%, this is a great opportunity to make that happen.
“Myself and JDM are committed to this race and since the entry is already locked in, we are going to give it our all to be a factor in this one. We are seeking sponsorships for this race and whoever partners up with us is going to not only get good results, but have some fun.
“I didn’t want to stop racing like I did in 2015 where it was not my choice. Thanks to Johnny Davis and his team, we’re able to go racing at Indy for him, Roger and myself. July can’t get here fast enough for me.”