Competition and a good bar
Dirt race helps lure Wallace to Wisconsin
Kenny Wallace comes to Wisconsin for a midweek race for all the right reasons.
For a retired guy, Kenny Wallace sure races a lot.
It’s just not the relentless, high-pressure hustle that building a NASCAR career and then maintaining it was for 30some years or even the grind his time in television became.
“I’m living my best life right now,” the gregarious, 56-year-old grandfather of four said this week.
“I threatened … I told my wife a year ago I’m thinking about quitting dirt racing. My wife said, you will not quit dirt racing. … My family likes me racing, but they also like it when I take a little time off.”
Which brings us to Wallace’s latest project.
Scrolling through his Twitter feed last week, he noticed the Clash at the Creek at 141 Speedway in Francis Creek fit neatly into a hole in his schedule.
The third-mile dirt track just off I-43 between Manitowoc and Green Bay will
draw IMCA modified drivers from around the country for a three-day, $10,000-to-win special. Practice opened Tuesday, preliminaries are Wednesday and the feature is set for Thursday night.
For a grassroots racer, the Clash is an opportunity for prestige and a huge payday. For Wallace, it’s an opportunity to compete with top talent in a hugely popular and relatively affordable class.
“I like the racetrack, I love the Milwaukee area – it’s 97 miles north of Milwaukee – and they’ve got a good bar above the grandstand,” said Wallace, who drove up Tuesday from his home in the St. Louis area. “It’s just fun. A lot of fun.
“There’ll be 80 cars that show up and they’ll only start 22, so it’s just a big deal to make the damn race. It’s a happening.”
Although Wallace usually races his own car in UMP modified events, he connected with Tim nounce the coach and team of the year awards; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, who will announce the boys and girls basketball players of the year; and Olympic great Michael Phelps, who will announce the boys and girls swimmers of the year.
The show will be hosted by sports broadcasters Jesse Palmer, Sage Steele, Dr. Jerry Punch and Courtney Cronin.
Join the conversation on social using #MJSSPORTSAWARDS and #HighSchoolSportsAwards.
Also, be sure to mark yourself as “interested” or “going” on this Facebook event.
The public also can show support for seniors who missed their final games and celebrations by joining in the national movement with support messages on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #DontStopNow. One person nationally using the hashtag #DontStopNow will win $1,000 and also $1,000 for the charity of their choice.
Here are some frequently asked questioned about the event:
Q. What if I can’t watch the show at 6 p.m. Thursday?
A. Although the show goes live on our website at 6 p.m. June 18, the show will be posted on our website for a month so you can watch it at any time (or as many times as you want!) thereafter.
Q. Who will have their name featured on screen during the show?
A. During the show, we will narrow down the nominees for each award to three finalists. Only the three finalists’ photos will be shown on screen. Then the winner’s name will be read aloud and their photo shown on screen. There will also be an Athlete of the Week honoree recognition moment in show.
At the end of the show, there will be a scrolling list of all the athletes and coaches who were nominated for awards and also Athlete of the Week honorees.
Q. How are nominees, finalists and winners selected?
A. Nominees, finalists and winners were selected by Journal Sentinel preps editor Mark Stewart in consultation with Now News Group preps reporter Curt Hogg.
Q. Will spring sports be awarded during the show?
A. Due to the fact spring sports were canceled we cannot award spring sport winners at the show.
Q. Will there be a live in-person event next year?
A. As long as the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer a threat to our safety and health, we plan to host a live event in the spring of 2021.
Here are all of this year’s nominees:
Premier awards
Male athlete of the year: Luke Fox, Catholic Memorial football and baseball; Patrick Baldwin Jr., Sussex Hamilton basketball; Keegan O’Toole, Arrowhead wrestling.
Female athlete of the year: Aubrey Hamilton, Arrowhead girls volleyball; Jadin O’Brien, Divine Savior Holy Angels basketball and track and field; Caroline Strande,
Love, a friend and business associate from Iowa, to race his car as he has once before.
IMCA is the oldest active auto racing sanctioning body in the country, dating to 1915, and modifieds are popular for their close racing with tight rules that keep them cost-efficient.
“It is a working-man’s class, but there are a handful … of people that build these race cars (and) they are by far the largest car count of race cars in the United States,” Wallace said. “That’s where they get their popularity.”
Wallace scored nine victories – all in what is now the Xfinity Series – over a NASCAR career that covered 26 seasons. He counts 86 trophies from dirt-track races over the past decade or so, including at prestigious tracks such as Eldora Speedway in Ohio and Volusia Speedway Park in Florida.
“I race too much. I raced 75 races last year,” Wallace said. “My dirt car works really well for me.
“What I do now, I give motivational speeches to big companies, and I have great sponsors on my dirt car … that I help sell their product.
Racine Lutheran girls basketball.
Coach of the year: Greg Brazgel, Lake Country Lutheran football; Janelle Hobbs, Arrowhead girls volleyball; Mary Scherr, Hartford gymnastics.
Team of the year: Arrowhead girls volleyball, Brookfield Central boys soccer, Brookfield East football, Brookfield East swimming and diving, Catholic Memorial football, Catholic Memorial girls tennis, Hartford gymnastics, Homestead girls tennis, Lake Country Lutheran football, Muskego girls cross country, Muskego football, Shorewood boys soccer, Shorewood girls cross country.
I AM SPORT: Winner - Jake Orthober, Marquette baseball. Other nominees: Colin Alba, Catholic Memorial soccer; Shelby Horth, Kohler tennis; Aspen Jankowski, Cedarburg volleyball and softball; Mia Jensen, DSHA basketball, golf and softball; Camryn Johnston, Badger volleyball; Grace Kittel, Cedarburg soccer; Maggie Krajnak, Franklin swimming; Anna Misky, DSHA basketball;Emma Westrick, Catholic Memorial soccer; Noah White and Sam Marshall, Marquette tennis.
Fall nominees
Boys cross country: Lucas Florsheim, Shorewood; Cael Grotenhuis, Slinger; Nicholas Holmes, Nicolet; Gavin Kuhlenbeck, Sussex Hamilton; Ben Schnoor, Germantown; Josh Truchon, West Allis Hale; Alex Vance, Oconomowoc; Charlie Wesley, Arrowhead.
Girls cross country: Caroline Durham, Brookfield Central; Brittany Helm, Muskego; Rachel Helm Muskego; Bella Lozier, Shorewood; Julia Neustedter, Brookfield Central; Isabela Ross, Oak Creek; Kate Sperka, Muskego; Leane Willemse, Homestead.
Football: Brooks Blount, Waukesha West; Alex Current, Muskego; Chimere Dike, Waukesha North; Luke Fox, Catholic Memorial; Donavan Hunt, Brookfield East; Gavin Meyer Franklin; Tyler Tenner, Racine Lutheran; Nate Valcarcel, Whitnall; Trey Wedig, Kettle Moraine; Hunter Wohler, Muskego.
Girls golf: Sarah Balding, Brookfield Central; Meredith Boos, Catholic Memorial; Elise Hoven, Cedarburg; Rachel Kauflin, Wauwatosa; Sami Krutz, Brookfield Central; Holly Murphy, Badger; Julia Schilling, Kettle Moraine; Grace Suter, Oconomowoc.
Boys soccer: Gabe Anguil, Marquette; Alex Grow, Marquette; Langdon Gryglas, Arrowhead; Charlie Klimpel, Brookfield East; Erich Legut, Waukesha West; Will Navarre, Nicolet; Bennett Pauls, Sussex Hamilton; Luke Thew, Marquette.
Girls swimming and diving: Abby Carlson, Waukesha South/ Mukwonago; Maya Novack, Cedarburg; Bella Smith, Whitnall; Cassie Stegner, Menomonee Falls/ Sussex Hamilton; Sydney Stoll, Arrowhead; Lucy Thomas, Brookfield East; Reilly Tiltmann, Brookfield East; Abby Wanezek, Brookfield East.
Girls tennis: Autumn Bruno, Whitnall; Elena Deslongchamps, Whitefish Bay; Zaya Iderzul, Badger; Katie Kavanagh, Whitefish Bay; Sarah Gesner, The Prairie School; Lauren Landstrom, New Berlin Eisenhower; Jordan SchifaI don’t know if anybody cares about my dirt car. They just want my mouth, but I tell them they’ve got to take the dirt car too.”
And with that, Wallace let out one of those goofy giggles that made him so popular. His zest for life is infectious.
These days Wallace enjoys his Sundays at home – “pool days” cooking out with family and spending time with the grandkids are relaxing after so many summers on the road – but events such as the Clash always will be a lure.
“What would make me happy is simply to perform well, compete good,” Wallace said. “Making the A main is a lot to ask for, because the guys I’m racing against, they may not do it for a living but they should.
“I think of what Dale Earnhardt Sr. told me. He said, ‘Herman, there are thousands of great racecar drivers all over the United States. They all can’t be in NASCAR.’ There are some really, really good race-car drivers all around the United States, and there’ll be a lot of them that will be there at 141 Speedway." no, DSHA; Elizabeth Sobieski, Muskego; Natalie Yang, Homestead.
Boys volleyball: Alex Freedy, Brookfield Central; Zach Frieseke, Marquette; Drew Jansen, Germantown; Nathan Klimisch, Kenosha Indian Trail; David Markes, Wauwatosa East; Matthew Spellman, Waukesha West; Hans Stelpflug, Germantown; Nolan Wollmer, Whitefish Bay.
Girls volleyball: Emily Alan, Burlington; Tayler Alden, Oconomowoc; Kaley Blake, Burlington; Caitlin Crawford, Oconomowoc; Hailey Grocholski, Kettle Moraine; Aubrey Hamilton, Arrowhead; Sam Naber, Burlington; Julia Treichel, Wisconsin Lutheran; Katie Winkler, East Troy; Mckenna Wucherer, Brookfield Central.
Winter nominees
Boys basketball: Patrick Baldwin Jr., Sussex Hamilton; Carter Gilmore, Arrowhead; Darius Hannah, Milwaukee Academy of Science; Alex Huibregtse, Grafton; Tyrese Hunter, Racine St. Catherine’s; David Joplin, Brookfield Central; Kobe Johnson, Nicolet; Quinton Murrell, Milwaukee King; Kaleim Taylor, Milwaukee Academy of Science; AJ Vukovich, East Troy.
Girls basketball: Kamorea Arnold, Germantown; Maddison Baker, West Bend West; Angie Cera, Mukwonago; Jasmine Kondrakiewicz, Pius XI; Khamya McNeal, Milwaukee King; Natalie McNeal, Germantown; Anna Mortag, Brookfield Central; Lauren Schill, Pewaukee; Olivia Sobczak, Oconomowoc; Caroline Strande, Racine Lutheran.
Gymnastics: Addie Gallun, Whitefish Bay; Miranda Knabe, Menomonee Falls/Germantown; Maggie Losch, Kenosha Combined; Gracie Moran, Waukesha Combined; Annie Murphy, Wilmot Co-op; Lexi Penney, Brookfield East/Central; Emily Perkowski, Hartford; Taylor Raskin, Homestead.
Boys hockey: Blake Carey, University School; Nick Catalano, Arrowhead; Tyler Herzberg, University School; Mark Moreno, Arrowhead; Dominic Murano, Whitefish Bay/Nicolet/Shorewood’; Hunter Santos, Kettle Moriane/Mukwonago/Oconomowoc; Trenton Skaggs, Arrowhead; Alex Thundercloud, University School.
Girls hockey: Jordan Bonk, University School Co-op; Lauren Curtis, Lakeshore; Shannon Dwyer, Arrowhead; Anna Gontarski, Lakeshore; Hadley Malcolmson, Brookfield; Zoe Neudorfer, University School Co-op; Sammy Stommel, University School Coop. Emma Tate, Arrowhead.
Boys swimming and diving: Caleb Blischke, Waukesha South/ Catholic Memorial; Jacob Carlson, Waukesha South/Catholic Memorial; Travis Craig, Franklin; Isaac Fleig, Cedarburg; Michael Konle, Marquette; Jackson Lustig, Greenfield Co-op; Emilio Perez, Greenfield Co-op; Ziyad Saleem, Milwaukee King.
Wrestling: Mason Diel, Arrowhead; Max Ehlen, Burlington; Cayden Henschel, West Bend East; Dajun Johnson, Whitefish Bay; Aidan Medora, Brookfield Academy; Mitchell Mesenbrink, Arrowhead; Keegan O’Toole, Arrowhead; Braeden Scoles, Kewaskum.
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