Maybe he needs a new spotter. I cant believe the guy just pulls into the pack coming out of the pits. WOW! A lot of good cars taken out, like the 88 and the 60 etc.

They replayed the spotters remarks. It wasn't her fault. She was telling him that the field was coming fast.

It seems that there was some confusion on where to enter the track. Ruetimann's team had the same confusion. I doubt that there will be NO confusion tomorrow!!

Not to mention Kevin LePage said someting to the effect, well, they knew I was going to come onto the track, I guess they need new spotters if they couldn't see that. What an idiot!!! You'd think he never raced a car there before, making it sound like getting out of HIS way, racing 3-4 wide at more then 100mph then he's doing, is an easy thing to do. Again, what an IDIOT!!

In his eyes they should have read his mind I guess..............I can't believe that AFTER the spotter said "the pack is coming fast" he pulls up and just expects people to dive out of his way. And then his response "well the first half dozen cars got by me clean" What an idiot!

We got a very fast racecar destroyed, that was running good and had a shot at a top 5, thanks Kevin

How long does it take to get up to speed in the Nationwide cars? Atleast a lap and a half. The pack is closing in fast.LOL. That was just like driving down the road and having a deer run out in front of you. She should be fired.

I watched the replay on NASCAR video and the first thing I said was... "This guy must be on drugs!"

His spotter clearly told him several times "THE PACK IS COMING MORON... DON'T PULL OUT!"... but he did.

Not even Danica would do something like that.

Bruce, you're damn right you had some fast cars out there Saturday and it's a shame Steven got tore up after showing so much patiance and maturity. I think he had a shot to win the thing!

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Kevin Lepage apologized Sunday for starting a 15-car accident in the Nationwide Series that he initially insisted wasn't his fault.


Kevin LepageLepage started the crash at Talladega Superspeedway when he was coming out of the pits with 47 laps to go Saturday. He tried to blend back onto the track as the pack of traffic raced toward Turn 1, effectively entering the racing line at half the speed the rest of the cars were traveling.

Carl Edwards practically ran over Lepage's car to trigger the massive wreck (watch video). Lepage insisted it wasn't his fault, but took responsibility after reviewing the footage and called it the biggest mistake he's made in his 25 years of racing.

"After reviewing the tapes of the accident I realize I need to apologize to NASCAR, the car owners, my fellow competitors and, most importantly, the fans," he said in a statement released by his team, Specialty Racing. "I made a huge driver error by blending onto the racetrack in the wrong area. This caused a multi-car accident and changed the outcome of the race for many teams.

"I'm so thankful that no one was hurt considering the number of cars involved."

Lepage vowed not to make the same mistake again, and said not accepting blame initially made him look like a "heel."

"There is not a single person to blame for this huge mistake except myself," he said. "I have worked very hard over the years to gain the respect of NASCAR, the owners, competitors and the fans, and it will take a long time to gain it back after what happened."

Lepage said if he could do it over, he would have let the leaders by before blending on to the track.

Its about time he wised up! I couldnt believe his interview.

While it doesn't change anything, it is nice to know he owned up to the problem and accepted responsibility. Despite our own thoughts to the contrary, we have all had our own "Awww NUTS!" moments.

I think maybe team owners, sponsors, and Nascar had something to do with that. But I hope Im wrong and he did watch the replay and realized his error. Its not easy admitting to mistakes sometimes.

I'm sure he got a real but chewin after the incident and his response to it..........I'm sure there was a heavy influence to apologize to everyone.

When does Nascar open and close the entry and exit of pit road? I know they sometimes do that (or used to ) If it was for safety reasons it seems like Talledega would be a good time for it. BTW I am not defending the boneheaded move that was made by Lepage nor am I blaming Nascar or anyone else.

We are in the process of tearing the car down, it looks like a total loss, we will know for sure when it gets on the jig, but I saw a few buckles around the tunnel, thats not a good sign

I am suprised to hear a member of Steven Wallace's crew complaining about getting wrecked. Steven is a world class wrecking machine. He has wrecked so many cars, most of the series owes that kid.

As a person who actually "Builds" the cars, I don't like seeing our cars wrecked over stupid, Idiotic Driving whether from Steven's fault or the fault of others, I am the first to give him hell when he screws up, but he has matured quite a bit as a driver, and he is one of the nicest kids you will find, he is very Appreciative of the cars we are building, as far as him being owed a wreck thats your opinion, but not the opinion of his fellow competitors

I guess the way that Nascar is today I would be appreciative of a crew that has to build cars that I destroy. That is a product of the NEW Nascr, you make it on money, not ability and talent. Wow, you must have to give him hell alot. LOL Just kiddin.

I have to admit that I have finally started noticing a difference in Steven lately.
An improvement, a maturing as a driver even.
It is really nice to see and I hope it continues to grow in that direction.

If his last name wasn't Wallace he would have been gone 2 years ago.

Kaboooom! Dad is very influential in cup circles. RWR! He'll get better eventually.

That's all part of learning how to be fast and taking care of your stuff. In my opinion I've seen a different Steven this year and he seems to have matured a bit from previous seasons. I don't believe anyone has a wrecking coming to them!

And you could say the same thing about Jr. too, just replace the Wallace with Earnhardt. Or how about Ricky Hendricks? Or Hmiel? Or Allison. Or Mears. I could go on and on here, you get my point. Why should Rusty be any different than any of these others??

Will YOU teach your kid about racing and try to help them climb every rung on the racing ladder?? Of course you will, and Rusty is no different, he just has more money and resources.

How many cars do you think Jr, wrecked as he was growing up and learning??

In my opinion, Rusty should of had Steven learn and prove himself in some smaller series first. The Nationwide Series is an awful BIG classroom. I would of liked to see him spend some time, a full season or two, in the ASALM Series, Hooter's Cup, or even a local track running for a Championship. I think he'd be farther along now in the maturation process if he would of went that route, instead of throwing him in to the big time right away.

But that's just my opinion, it sure is easy to tell who's kid he is when watching an interview!!!

Good point Bid Ed, but Little E has won races. And won race his frist season in the Buch series (I think). Your name will get you there, but shouldn't keep you there. It's a good thing Steven dad knows the team. If I remeber right didn't Ricky step out of the seat because he didn't think he could hack it. And Ricky even won a race!!

Yes Joe, that is right.

I suppose I am not trying to compare him to the others, results wise anyways. Just a comment on the "who's your Daddy" aspect that gets these kids in the rides they have.

I think the ones you mentioned were tutored differently, more in the way I feel Rusty should of done with Steven. Jr. ran locally for a while before moving up. Hendricks too. Both were older, more mature, and wiser than young WALLACE, and THAT is what shows.

But your initial point is dead on Joe, if his last name wasn't Wallace, none of us would have ever heard of him yet.

I've been a huge Rusty fan as long as he has been around (even ASA), and I want to be a Steven fan too, but he has to earn my loyalty, respect, and fan support.

Ricky had an ugly crash and admitted he was SCARED of driving, therefore admitting he wasn't cut out for driving.

Jr. didn't do anything in BUSCH until he got into his dad's #3 AC Delco car, he did drive for his dad in about 7 races before getting the #3. I saw him race at California Speedway the year before he got into that ride and Steve Park was still in it and the crowd was MUCH louder for Park then jor Jr. You barely knew that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was even in the race. When Jr. ran local short tracks he didn't win very much there either. His sister was considered a better driver. Steven is a more accomplished driver coming into the NATIONWIDE Series then Jr. was coming into it. Steven has won on the local level. He did win the Snowball Derby, something his dad never did.

How about Brad Keselowski? I would say he got some breaks because of who his dad is. He has made the best of them and I'm sure Steven will to.

Jr did win Three late model races. I remember him driving for someone else while Park was in the #3 and he won at MIS I think, anyway the media and crowd made a bigger deal of Jr finishing 10th than Park winning the race. They interviewed Dale Sr in victory lane and asked about Jr and he blew them off and said what about Park winning.

I’m surprised you would included Davey Allison on your list of drivers who made it big because of is name.

Davey may not of made his debut in NASCAR until the 1980’s but he was an old school driver that made it on his own, and his father made sure of that. Davey built most of his own short track cars that he won many races in before anyone had ever heard of him on the national level. How many of these over-hyped kids in racing today could build their own cars – let alone one that could win?

Allison had a few starts with the under funded Earl and Check Sadler team in his early Cup career that he ran well in. He filled in for Neil Bonnet in the Junior Johnson Bud car at Talladega and led a few laps and finished well which helped him get a full time ride with the Harry Ranier team that became Yates. Davey ran well in most every car he raced. He was one of the greatest natural talented drivers in racing. It would be interesting to see how well Davey would have done had he lived longer.

It is too bad more drivers today don’t make it to the top level based on talent and not because of how much money their parents have pumped into their careers.

mod4.......this is true. Growing up in a family of racers certainly gives the youngsters a leg-up if they choose to go into racing themselves. As with many other professions in life.

And......personally I think he was moved up before he was ready and it would have been better to hold him back a yr or two longer than they did.

But........that being said, it still does not take away from the fact that Steven Wallace does appear to be showing some nice improvement this year as a driver and he should be acknowledged for his improvement, no matter what his last name may be.
It is nice to see and I hope he continues to grow as a driver.

So do you think if his last name was Hippensteel instead of Allison he would of got the same opportunities that he did?? I'm not saying that he "made it big" because of his name, but that he got opportunities you and I wouldn't get, BECAUSE of his last name.

By including him in that list, I am NOT taking anything away from his talent, his abilities, and how good of a driver he was. I have always had great respect for Davey. But I'm sorry if it offends you, but he would NOT of got the opportunities he did, if he wasn't Bobby Allison's son.

I disagree with that, only because in those days driver talent actually meant something. Yes, I'm sure the name game played some part but it wasn't so much about how well spoken you were or how GQ the sponsors thought you were. Davey was pure unadulterated stock car driving talent......period! I can honestly say, and this is just my opinion.........Earnhardt wouldn't have 7 championships and Jeff Gordon probably wouldn't of gotten 4. The year that Davey died he was in contention for the championship and I believe he had a pretty good points lead at this time of year in '93. Back in those days.........you could actually run away with a championship by being consistant!

So Rob, by disagreeing with me your saying that he would of received the very same opportunities IF his last name was Hippensteel???

If that's true, I guess we have to agree to disagree, but I cannot see where you'd actually believe that. Look at your own home track. How many talented drivers do you see?? How many of them might be able to compete on the big time level?? Now, how many will ever get that opportunity? And leave out the PR bull, I'm talking about pure racing talent, not what you look like, or how well you speak.

Laci, you are right it was at MIS but he was driving for his dad that race. It was the only top 10 he had before moving to the #3 car. Also the only race he finished on the lead lap before going to the #3.

I was lucky enough to get garage passes to the BUSCH races at California Speedway for the first three years. The first year Park was in the #3 and the crowd and media was all over him. Jr. was in a black #7 sponsored by Manheim not owned by his dad. The crowd cheered louder for Park then they did for Jr. The media left him alone as well. You could walk right up to him no problems at all. Now the next year when Jr. got into the #3 it all changed. The crowd was going crazy for Jr. and he won the race. You couldn't get anywhere near him.

I mean look at Alex Donnert, his dad is doing EVERYTHING to make sure he wins! LOL!

I know, I gotta start paying attention to my own stuff now. 2nd is not cool anymore when your kid wins.

Ed,
I guess we will have to agree to disagree. Davey had made a name for himself on the southern short tracks and in some ARCA starts long before he made it to Winston Cup. No matter what his name was I think he would have accomplished the same success that he did.

Just for giggles,

Let's toss this into the pot.

What Big Ed is saying has much merit. Many benefits come from being from a racing family, not the least of which is the name, which garners not only the built in benefit of learning the craft from your family members, (something absolutely invaluable) but also another aspect which is either funding of some sort, and or good equipment to learn in and to drive.

Look at our local short track scene, and see how many drivers there are that have racing in the bloodlines, and how well some of them have done with the benefits that have accrued through that bloodline.

Then, let's look at others, for a prime example, myself. No auto racing bloodline (but I must say a damn fine bloodline nonetheless), no funding from that bloodline and no equipment to run in, and no family to learn the craft from.

Start this sport like I did and it is a steep hill and a long learning curve. Add in the fact that I did it at an age when some are stepping out of cars, and that hill gets even steeper. (Thank God I've developed some very, very good friends who have helped me learn this sport, for that I will be indebted to them always.)

Yet when I eventually am on the outside looking in, I am going to always treasure this period of my life, and the friends that I have made.

There are pure talents out there, who may never get a chance, and pure talents out there who have the bloodline and the benefits that accrue from it. That cannot be given disregard in this discussion.

have a good day,

schinde

Travis Eddy, good equiment, good talent, and has a last name.

You read my mind and that was gonna be my response to Big Ed.

Ed of course we can agree to disagree......

Good run for Rusty's kid tonight...........................awesome run for Richmond.

I talked to Steven Friday, and asked him how he liked Richmond, he said hes never had a good car there so he wasnt sure, I think his opinion will change now, To give you a Idea of the change at RWR in 1 year, I started there in March 07, there were about 28 employees, now about a year later there are about 35 and only 2 have been there longer than me???????? thats how big a turnover happens at a Race Shop, But the proof is in the pudding
Im just glad I had a small part in it And Matt you are so right about the learning curve about racing, Everything I know about racing I learned myself, I had no relatives that raced, in Port Huron I knew noone that raced roundy round, I made so many mistakes, its a wonder I didnt give up the second race, the first person I met at Flat Rock was Arnie (Tricknology) he helped me Alot as did Tom Selmi (a very fast street stocker) Now i find myself helping quite a few aspiring Drivers down here and I love to be able to do it......Bruce

Well, I guess the running into Busch on the last lap and then grabbing of the helmet proves my point. Then after he gives an interview and says, he is being a baby about it.

We still havent forgot that Rusty's son got kicked out of Pensacola last year and the destruction of property issue. Yeah, he is real mature. I still remember him wrecking Freddy Campbell at Berlin. Eventually after more wrecks I am sure someone will say he has talent.


On a positive note, Brad Keselowski not only is respectful but shows his talent week in and week out.

??????????????? It takes a BIG man to pick a fight with a helmet on and while a guy is in his car , You must have seen a different race than I did, Do you or have you ever raced? Apperently not Steven was on the last lap and his car was GOOD he picked up the throttle alittle quicker than Bush did and bumped him, He didnt stay in the throttle and spin him out he let him collect it up, im not even sure what KB was so upset about, he finished 3rd and didnt get wrecked! whats wrong with that?? a little tap on the ass and he goes off??? I can tell you this the last thing he wants to do is pick a fight with Steven, KB will lose, ask his brother how battling with Jimmy Spencer worked out

Ask Ray Derminer if Brad has always been respectful and talented as you say..We all make mistakes now and then..and if a driver goes and confronts another driver either in his car or his pit the way that happened he should get more than his helmet grabbed

I dont have to drive a race car to see that Steven has caused tons of wrecks. Kyle Busch is no better. I was from the start just suprised to see a member of RWI being mad at another driver for causing a wreck.

Kyle Busch is way worse... Steven is just working on the learning curve...but Kyle is an idiot and experience rarely fixes that. You can't fix stupid.

I think Kyle is all out of "gather back ups"... He doesn't deserve that kind of respect. Steven let him gather it back up... since he got no respect for it, why do it again? I think there is a growing list of drivers who will agree with me. I doubt that Dale Jr will be cutting him much slack anytime soon...

Mike

Maddmike said:

"I think Kyle is all out of "gather back ups"... He doesn't deserve that kind of respect. Steven let him gather it back up... since he got no respect for it, why do it again? I think there is a growing list of drivers who will agree with me. I doubt that Dale Jr will be cutting him much slack anytime soon..."

Yep, you are right.

have a good day,

schinde