Wallace to shut down RWI?

dpkimmel2001

dpkimmel2001

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Like I said before..... Finding a sponsor for Steven has to be the toughest job in NASCAR. With the 5-hour Energy departure it looks like RWI is contemplating shutting its doors until the sponsorship outlook improves. Will it ever improve enough to get a sponsor for Steven. Time will tell.

Wallace willing to shut down RWI

Rusty Wallace is willing to put his race organization, RWI, "into mothballs" for a couple of seasons until the sponsorship landscape in NASCAR improves.

RWI is losing backing from 5-hour Energy at the end of the season and has yet to secure full sponsorship for the teams for next year. 5-hour Energy is expected to sponsor Clint Bowyer at Michael Waltrip Racing in 2012. An announcement is scheduled for Friday in Kansas City.

So what happens to RWI's existing NASCAR Nationwide Series teams?

"I just want to find a good ride for Steven," Wallace said of his 24-year-old son, who is eighth in the point standings. Wallace added he's spoken with several Sprint Cup organizations that expressed interest in putting Steven in a Nationwide Series car next season.

In five full seasons in Nationwide Series competition, Steven Wallace has six top-fives and 34 top-10 finishes in 186 starts. He scored two career NNS poles, in 2007 at Bristol and Nashville. Wallace’s career-high finish of fourth came in August at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

Rusty Wallace Inc. was founded in 1985. Wallace fielded cars for his brother Kenny in what was then the Busch Series (now Nationwide) from 1989 to 1992 and finished second in the point standings in 1991. RWI returned part-time in 2004 with the focus on building a program for his son.

The younger Wallace made his debut on NASCAR's Triple A tour in 2005. He ran a half-season the following year and attempted the full circuit at age 19 in 2007. RWI added a second full-time NNS team in 2008.

Michael Annett currently pilots the No. 62 Toyota for RWI and is 10th in the point standings. Annett, 25, is in his third full season in the NNS. He was arrested on Feb. 6 for driving under the influence in Mooresville, NC.
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From here.
 
As long as Rusty owned the team SW was safe no matter how many times he crashed. Gonna be tough to keep a ride when daddy isn't the boss.
 
It helps that Wallace always gets some attention from the broadcast crew no matter where he's running in the race.

Good luck to Rusty in trying to find him a good ride - he's going to need it.
 
Poor Steven, If only guys like Stevie Wonder owned teams.

What's even more scary? What if Steven sez, Hey Dad you think you could get me an ESPN commentator job, if no rides come along?
 
Was Steven ever Rookie Of The Year? Never followed Nationwide that close.
 
Rusty made a huge mistake for letting Steve drive his car..That kid costed him HUGE amounts of money
 
tough to get sponsors when you have 2 drivers that need to be replaced.
 
There are some talented drivers who never get a chance at driving a decent car. Steve wasted a ride for 3 years. After the first 2, Daddy should have realized he didn't have what it takes.
 
Even if RWI shuts down,Steve won't have to ''WORK" for a living, ever.Don't kid yourself into thinking that he will.
 
I watched Steven win his first race. It was in a late model car in a race at Friendship Raceway, outside Winston Salem, NC. Steven had the best car no doubt, but he had to start near the rear for some reason. Steven didn't take any prisoners in that race and his car showed it. It was pretty much mangled at the end and there were plenty of drivers and fans that took an instant dislike to Steven. My thought at the time was that Steven showed that he was aggressive enough to make a big splash in NASCAR when the time came. Well he did, but he found out that he wasn't racing late models and the competition was completely different. I don't think that Steven has lost his aggressiveness, but he hasn't tamed it either. Don't even know if he can tame it. He's had enough seat time that should show whether or not he can move up. We can only wait and see if he is able to find another ride. If not, he may have to revert back to racing late models, where he can always push his way to the front.
 
MAGICMILER said:
Even if RWI shuts down,Steve won't have to ''WORK" for a living, ever.Don't kid yourself into thinking that he will.
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True. But what father who has been succesful doesn't want his son to follow in his footsteps? Ned Jarrett, Big E come to mind.

Personally I wouldn't let sw drive a wheel barrow.
 
I hope he can turn his racing operation around. It is always a sad day when someone like Rusty Wallace, who has been around racing his whole life has to close their doors. It is not good when any team has to close their doors. By making my living in racing for the past 15 years I have seen teams come, and teams go, and it is never good to see a team close their doors and see all their personnel out of a jobs.:(
 
buckaroo said:
Don't forget Bobby Allison.
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Ooops my bad. My point being offspring don't always have the talent or interest of the parents. I'm sure SW saw the rewards but didn't realize they don't come overnight and it takes a lot of dedication and hard work.
 
Nitro Dude said:
I hope he can turn his racing operation around. It is always a sad day when someone like Rusty Wallace, who has been around racing his whole life has to close their doors. It is not good when any team has to close their doors. By making my living in racing for the past 15 years I have seen teams come, and teams go, and it is never good to see a team close their doors and see all their personnel out of a jobs.:(
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I agree but if his priority is giving his son a ride over running a successful operation, then there's nothing anyone can do as he'll end up with neither.
 
SST55 said:
Ooops my bad. My point being offspring don't always have the talent or interest of the parents. I'm sure SW saw the rewards but didn't realize they don't come overnight and it takes a lot of dedication and hard work.
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The same could be said of Justin Labonte and Jason Jarrett.
 
#17D500winner said:
I agree but if his priority is giving his son a ride over running a successful operation, then there's nothing anyone can do as he'll end up with neither.
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That is true, but also as SST55 said, what father that has been succesful, doesn't want their son to follow in their footsteps. So Rusty might have made decisions that he may not have made if his sons future wasn't on the line.:)
 
Find him a good ride lol....wait he was serious:eek:.

And what "Cup teams" Robby Gordon?
 
If Steven can't get a ride then why did Rusty say, I believe it was this year, that Steven will be a champion within 5 years? Is he more delusional than it seems? I think he meant Cup Champion!---John
 
Every father wants his son to follow in his footsteps? :rolleyes:

Nah!

Mine didn't and I am happy that he picked his own way to go in life.
Just as long as he is a good law-abiding and productive citizen, a good provider for his family and a loving husband and father is all I could ever ask for and my wishes were granted.

I think that is part of the problem here. Rusty thinking that his son had the same talent and interest. It doesn't happen that way in life all the time.
 
I guess it would also depend on what kind of career the father had for himself.
 
Guido said:
Every father wants his son to follow in his footsteps? :rolleyes:

Nah!

Mine didn't and I am happy that he picked his own way to go in life.
Just as long as he is a good law-abiding and productive citizen, a good provider for his family and a loving husband and father is all I could ever ask for and my wishes were granted.

I think that is part of the problem here. Rusty thinking that his son had the same talent and interest. It doesn't happen that way in life all the time.
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Ok you are an exception to the rule. It goes without saying that most fathers want their children to be good law-abiding, and productive citizens. But also most fathers would want to support their children in what ever they want to do with in reason.
 
Nitro Dude said:
Ok you are an exception to the rule. It goes without saying that most fathers want their children to be good law-abiding, and productive citizens. But also most fathers would want to support their children in what ever they want to do with in reason.
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That's the whole point............... what the young person want to do........... not what the father wants them to do!
 
Guido said:
That's the whole point............... what the young person want to do........... not what the father wants them to do!
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If the kid doesn't want to do it then yes the father shouldn't push him in to it. But I was more or less thinking of situations where the kid would want to follow in their fathers footsteps. My bad for not being more specific.
 
"Pop, I can wreck that car in two laps"

Stolen from the game show 'Name that tune"
 
UPDATE ON RWR

UPDATE: Rusty Wallace Racing, which will lose sponsor 5-Hour Energy after this season, is working with potential sponsors on a deal for Steven Wallace, Rusty's son, to continue racing in the Nationwide Series. RWR also will field a car next year for Michael Annett, who has brought sponsorship to the organization. 5-Hour Energy is leaving the team to sponsor Clint Bowyer at Michael Waltrip Racing, a deal expected to be announced this week. Team owner Rusty Wallace said Monday that he has no plans to shut down his team and is looking for new sponsors. Wallace said if he can't run a full Nationwide season with Steven, he would run a partial schedule. He didn't want to name the sponsors he has commitments from until the formal announcements. "We've got about five of our sponsors under contract," Wallace said in a phone interview Monday. "I don't plan on shutting my team down at all. & I might have to slow down a little bit. I can't put any of my personal money into this thing. I've already put personal money into this thing, more than I'm feeling comfortable with to keep it going. With that said, I'm not sitting here feeling sorry for myself because 90% of the garage area has this problem and my situation is no different." While moving to the Sprint Cup Series is the eventual goal for his team, making the move with 5-Hour Energy was not an option, Wallace said.(SceneDaily)(10-4-2011)
 
Saw this somewhere.....

Rusty's pitch to new RWI sponsors: "Your company's logo will receive great exposure during TV broadcasts, once the smoke clears."
 
Rusty's pitch to new sponsors: "You'll be an big part of RWI, unique from all our other parts that are scattered about the track by lap 8."
 
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