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Rusty Wallace Returns To Racing In X Games

NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace returns to a very different kind of racing.

Rusty Wallace just turned 58. By no means should 58 years old be considered old in the real world, but we’re not talking about the real world. We’re talking about a place that’s about as far away from the real world as you can get. We’re talking about the Summer X Games. And Rusty Wallace is a little over a month away from making his debut in the made-for-ESPN sport.

Wallace, a former NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer, will compete in the Off-Road Truck-racing competition, driving one of Robby Gordon’s stadium trucks. Wallace was recruited hard by his old bosses at ESPN, even before they lost NASCAR broadcasting rights at the end of last season.

“They (ESPN) have been talking to me for about three years now about being in the X-Games,” Wallace told me last week. “I’ve been saying ‘No’ because I’ve been busy with the broadcast, but this year I have little bit more time on my hands so I think I’ll go for it.”

Wallace will compete in the Off-Road trucking event in this summer’s X Games for the first time June 4-7 in Austin, Texas. In Wallace, it’s brought back a competitive fire he’d not stoked in a decade and for the X Games it’s put a marquee name in the mix.

“Hopefully if I get enough training and feel good, I’m going to win this thing,” Wallace said. “That’s my plan. I’m not going to run second, I can tell you that.”

So how does a 58-man go for it? First, he has to learn how to drive the truck. Gordon is actually an old stock car racer himself, among other things, and started his own stadium truck team a few years ago. Wallace went to Arizona to test out one of the trucks and, flying through the air over a jump, he was hooked.

“I went over to his (Gordon’s) place and test it a little bit and got pretty excited,” Wallace said. “He thought I’d be just fine. I’m a little bit nervous and I know I’m a little bit out of my element, but I think with enough testing I’ll be right there. I was about 15 feet in the sky for about 30 feet and I’ve got to get higher and longer. I did that about four or five times.”

Wallace retired from NASCAR back in 2005 and has been working with ABC and ESPN since as a member of their broadcast team. Even though he owns plenty of automotive dealerships in the East Tennessee area, certainly enough to keep him busy, Wallace suddenly found himself with some extra time on his hands. Time he could spend racing.

“What I’ve had to tell everybody is that I’m a NASCAR guy,” Wallace said. “I love NASCAR in and out, but I love doing fun things too. When this opportunity came up, it got me intrigued. I wouldn’t have been interested if it wasn’t for my ex-boss at ESPN Rich Fienberg. He’s in charge of all the X-Games. He does it Aspen and Austin and he’s a real smart guy when it comes to that. He’s the one that repeatedly asked me to do it. If not for that, I probably wouldn’t have. But he’s such a cool guy and he knows what’s going on.”

Wallace isn’t planning on making a new career out of off-road truck racing or the X Games. This is just a “one-time thing,” even though Wallace has already fielding other offers to race, including driving in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. More importantly, he’s ready to be a fan again, rooting for his son Steven as he continues his short-track racing career. Still, it’s hard to stay out from behind the wheel, even when he was in the booth.

“I find myself using a lot of analytical work and critiquing a lot (when watching races),” Wallace said. “I’ll think if I was in there, I’d do this. I miss driving the car. I really do. That’s probably one of the reasons I got in the truck.”

Wallace will continue his media tour touting his X Games appearance for the next week or so before heading down for some final training with Gordon in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. Then it’s off to Austin and the X Games and the chance to stand in the winner’s circle one more time.

Written by Adam Greene

Adam Greene is a writer and photographer based out of East Tennessee. His work has appeared on Cracked.com, in USA Today, the Associated Press, the Chicago Cubs Vineline Magazine, AskMen.com and many other publications.

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