CHARLOTTE – Brad Keselowski pulled the brown bottle out of his suit pocket, offering a toast from the present to the past.
“Here’s to Rusty,” he said, holding up the Miller Lite bottle.
It
was Keselowski that gave the Blue Deuce -- the No. 2 with its blue and
white Miller Lite paint scheme -- its first championship, but it was
Rusty Wallace that put it on the map.
Friday night, Wallace took
his place among NASCAR’s immortals in what he called “the biggest day of
my racing career,” as he headlined the Hall of Fame’s fourth class.
“I’m humbled that I’ve made it here,” Wallace said. “I’m humbled that I’m standing up here.”
The
St. Louis native entered the sport as a young, brash outsider and would
go on to win 55 races and the 1989 Cup series championship. Wallace was
inducted along with innovative crew chief Leonard Wood, Buck Baker (the
first back-to-back Cup champ), Herb Thomas (the first two-time title
winner) and former car owner Cotton Owens.
"I feel so different. I
feel so happy. I feel like my career has finally got a period on the
end," Wallace said following the ceremony. "People are already acting
different. They are acting kinder. They are calling me Mr. Wallace and
treating me different."
Wallace thanked his car owners, among
them Raymond Beadle, Cliff Stewart and Roger Penske, and another
surprising name that helped key his lone Cup title.
“We started
running out of money at the end of 1989, and Rick Hendrick said, ‘Hey,
I’m going to give y’all some money to keep y’all going,’ because Raymond
and Rick are big buddies,” Wallace said. “So Rick Hendrick will tell
you he has — I don’t know how many — championships and half a one.”
Wallace later estimated Hendrick had loaned Beadle $400,000 to keep the team afloat.
Outspoken
throughout his career and in his current role as an ESPN analyst,
Wallace took the opportunity to send a message to the current generation
of drivers
"The thing I learned, and I said it at the driver
meeting in 2005 the day I retired and walked out, I said: 'This is a
privilege. This is a privilege to race in NASCAR. You don't have to do
it. We're not making you do it. It's a privilege to race in NASCAR, and
it's a blessing for me to be in this sport and do what I've done,' "
Wallace said. "I just hope all the young drivers respect NASCAR as much
as I respect it and go out there and say nice things about NASCAR and
help build this sport."
As the ceremony closed, Wallace stood on
stage with the rest of living Hall of Fame members, 2010 inductees
Richard Petty and Junior Johnson, Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore
and David Pearson of the ’11 class and ’12’s Dale Inman, Darrell
Waltrip, Glen Wood and Cale Yarborough.
Wallace made his way to
the media room in the Charlotte Convention Center, the stories
continuing as he recounted, a meeting in 1992 when he convinced owner
Roger Penske to stay in NASCAR and the day Dr. Jerry Punch saved his
life after a crash at Bristol.
“I was dead, not breathing,” Wallace said. “He got me going.”
He
discussed the biggest regret of his career, never winning the Daytona
500 -- “I desperately wanted to win the Daytona 500,” he said. “I wanted
to win that race so bad.” -- before walking next door, where cameras
were set up in front of a gray backdrop. He posed for photos with Wood,
the class’ only other living member, whom Wallace thought was a fitting
HOF classmate.
It was Wood who was the first person to
congratulate Wallace when he earned his first Cup victory at Bristol
Motor Speedway in 1986.
"He stuck his hand in the window and said
'Kid, congratulations,' and I could hear his voice over the engine,"
Wallace said. "Leonard was the first guy to congratulate me for winning
at Bristol and I'm going into the Hall of Fame with you."
Wallace
posed for more photos with his son, Greg -- who presented Wallace with
his Hall of Fame ring – and more shots by himself before walking back
out in the hallway, where the rest of his family waited.
The festivities were far from over.
The
next morning, Wallace would be part of an unveiling in the facilities’
Hall of Honor of pieces of the HOF class’ past. Wallace’s display
includes Midnight, the black and gold Miller Genuine Draft Ford
Thunderbird he powered to 13 wins and 30 top-5s in 38 starts from
1992-97. “It's going to bring back a lot of memories for sure,” Wallace
would say of seeing the car, which has been restored.
“Time to do
another picture,” a Hall of Fame worker said, ushering Wallace and his
family back inside, as Wood brushed past for his media session.
Wallace adjusted the tie of his son, Nationwide Series driver, Steve.
“This is going to be a good picture,” the elder Wallace said, beaming.
