Rusty Wallace

American NASCAR Cup Series driver who won 55 races and the 1989 championship, known for his aggressive driving style and success at short tracks.

Russell William Wallace Jr. was born on 14 August 1956 in Fenton, Missouri, and followed his father, Russ, a prolific amateur race winner, into stock car racing, competing at weekly tracks across Missouri before moving to Midwest-based touring series where he was identified as a rising star. Wallace won USAC's 1979 Rookie of the Year award, finishing third in points behind champion A.J. Foyt, and claimed the American Speed Association title in 1983, racing against future NASCAR stars including Mark Martin and Alan Kulwicki. Wallace joined NASCAR's Winston Cup Series full-time in 1984, winning Rookie of the Year, and delivered his first of 55 career wins in 1986 at Bristol driving for Raymond Beadle's Blue Max Racing. He won the 1989 Winston Cup championship driving for Roger Penske, and went on to compete for 25 seasons, tying for eighth on NASCAR's all-time wins list. Wallace retired in 2005 and became a prominent NASCAR broadcaster for ESPN and ABC. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2013, and his brothers, Mike and Kenny, both also became NASCAR drivers, making the Wallaces one of the sport's most recognisable racing families.

Aggressive, fearless driver known for close racing and never backing down

One of NASCAR's most successful drivers of the 1980s and 1990s, known for his fierce competitiveness

• NASCAR Cup Series Champion 1989
• NASCAR Cup Series Runner-Up 1988
• NASCAR Cup Series Runner-Up 1993
• Daytona 500 Winner 1994 (later stripped, awarded 1993 runner-up)
• Winston 500 Winner 1991
• Talladega Superspeedway Race Winner multiple times
• NASCAR All-Star Race Winner 1989
• NASCAR Winston Cup Most Popular Driver Award 1988
• NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee 2013
• IROC Champion 1991
• NASCAR Cup Series 55 career race wins