Kenny Wallace - Driver

Age: 37
Wife: Kim
Children:
Brooke (1/4/87)
Brandy (4/5/89)
Brittany (12/28/90)
Hometown: St. Louis
Residence: Concord, NC

Biography

"I feel like I've started a new lease on life," said Wallace. "I'm very excited about this new deal, but at the same time I'm staying humble. Probably 10 years ago I'd be jumping up and down over this. But I'm at a point right now in my career where I feel like I'm on a mission. There's a sense of urgency. I feel like I've got to get a win in the next year or two."

A win in the ultra-competitive NASCAR Winston Cup Series is the number one priority on Wallace's list, because the youngest of three Wallace brothers is used to winning.

His father, Russ, was one of the Midwest's most successful short track drivers, and his two older brothers, Rusty and Mike, are also prolific racers. Winning races is a Wallace tradition, and Kenny has certainly carried on the family heritage.

In his first stint ever behind the wheel of a race car in 1982, Wallace won the Street Stock State Championship in Illinois. After turning wrenches on older brother Rusty's race cars for a few years, Kenny returned to driving by competing in the American Speed Association (ASA) in 1986. He immediately found success by garnering Rookie of the Year honors and finishing 11th in points.

Wallace spent two more years in the ASA ranks operating on a shoe-string budget, as his wife Kim worked two jobs just to pay the bills.

"Those were some tough times," recalls Wallace. "Kim was working and I was traveling and racing. Sometimes I would sleep in the car just to save a few dollars."

By 1989, Wallace's perseverance and hard work began to pay off, as Rusty picked Kenny to drive for his newly formed NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division team. Together, they won two races in three seasons.

With his eyes set on Winston Cup, Wallace joined Team SABCO in 1992. They competed in the Busch Series for one year, collecting one win and two poles before moving up to the Winston Cup level in 1993 in search of rookie accolades. Success was tough to find however, and Wallace left the team at season's end.

"I learned a valuable lesson there," said Wallace. "This is a team sport and we just weren't a team. Everyone needs to work together in order to be successful."

Wallace returned to the Busch Series in 1994 with FILMAR Racing. Over the next three years, they tallied five wins, 19 top-five finishes and 26 top-10 finishes in the Busch Series. In 1995, the team ran a 15-race Busch Series schedule and a limited Winston Cup effort in preparation for a full assault on the Winston Cup circuit in 1996 with backing from Square D.

After three years of full-time Winston Cup competition with FILMAR, Wallace garnered two poles and 11 top-10 finishes while earning a total of $2,416,527.

However, in late August of 1998, car owner Filbert Martocci and Wallace agreed to part ways at the conclusion of the Winston Cup calendar. Wallace continued to drive Martocci's No. 81 Tauruses through the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway, as it was an amicable parting, but he was free to pursue other options for the 1999 Winston Cup season.

Enter Andy Petree Racing in 1999. Owned by the man for whom the team is named, Petree jumped on the opportunity to hire Wallace as a teammate to his driver of two years - Ken Schrader.

From boyhood chums to fellow Winston Cup racers to, now, teammates, Wallace relishes the role of working with Schrader.

"I think only Kenny and I understand how odd it sounds for us to be called teammates," said Wallace, "because we're best friends more than we are teammates. In the early '70s my brother Rusty and Kenny were rivals on the tracks around Missouri. Our families spent a lot of time together and Kenny took a liking to me. He used to take me to a town called Licking, Mo., where he had some property. It was there where Kenny put me in an old pickup truck and let me drive around. I'll never forget that experience. It was the greatest time I ever had - to be able to drive for my first time.

And Now Kenny is driving for Eel River Racing and with his long time friend Barry Dodson. I worked directly with Barry early in my career and we just think the same. We communicate better then a husband and wife, sometimes we just need to look at each other to have a conversation. Knowing Barry was at ERR was one of the leading reasons I decided to change to ERR in 2001. Barry and me can make magic together, I just know it!"

"My goal this year is to have both cars in the top-10 in points," continued Wallace. "We've got to win a race somewhere, somehow, someway. We've got to get ourselves on the winner's circle plan. We've got to get a pole. This whole deal will be a success if both of us are a lot better than we were last year."



Bobby Foley - Crew Chief

Hometown: Bassett, VA
Birthday: 1/3/63
Height: 5’6"
Weight: 192 lbs.
Family: Engaged to Sandy
Children: Britny Lynn, 13


With 25 years in racing, Bobby Foley, 39, is the crew chief for the #48 (IMI) race team. He hung up his local racing helmet so that he could devote his energy towards continued success in racing as a team leader. Here are some of his accomplishments:

1975 - 1981 Worked on local race cars.
1985 - 1989 Drove late model cars at local level (4 wins).
1989 - 1991 Car Chief- Hensley Racing with drive Chuck Bown (1990 Busch Grand National Championship)
1991 - 1996 Suspension specialist - Wood Bros. Racing (1996 "The Winston" winner with Michael Waltrip.
1997 -1998 Car Chief- Bill Davis Racing with driver Ward Burton
1999 Car Chief – Hensley Racing with driver Chuck Bown and Bobby Hamilton Jr.
2000-2001 Car Chief -Petty Enterprises with drivers Adam and Kyle Petty
2002 Named Crew Chief for #48 Innovative Motorsports car driven by Kenny Wallace