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Kenny Wallace For The NASCAR Hall of Fame?! | Coffee With Kenny · Kenny Wallace Media

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  Happy Friday morning to everybody, John, Scotoni and
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  myself. We've been drinking coffee all
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  morning. John, where are we at?
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  We're in Teormina, Italy, Sicily.
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  Man, it is incredible here. Mount Etna is in the background.
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  We were going to climb it today, but the weather's a little
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  little iffy, so we're going to do it tomorrow.
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  Let's do a quick 360 here everybody all right, the ocean
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  in the background. Just incredible.
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  Now this town we are in is probably the most famous town in
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  all of Sicily. We are at a rooftop restaurant
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  slash bar. But check out this.
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  I mean, this is right out of the movies.
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  Look at this, huh? Pretty incredible.
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  OK, that was a quick little monologue.
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  So today, well, we were driving last night, John and I said, you
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  know what? John's Katoni is a very
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  successful gentleman out of the North Side of Chicago.
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  How many years ago did I meet you, You, you.
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  Called I believe it was 20/12/2011 somewhere around
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  there. How long have you been a NASCAR
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  fan since? I was a kid.
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  Since you were a kid. Since the 1980s, you.
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  Love NASCAR and he knows his NASCAR.
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  So probably five years ago, John Scotone said to me and this
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  shocked me and and listen, this is embarrassing for me to say
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  that it's truth. My hand on the Bible.
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  John said, Kenny Wallace, you should be in the Hall of Fame.
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  And I laughed and I cringed. I said absolutely not.
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  So I'm setting the perimeters here and then John's going to I
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  want to ask John some questions. And so, you know, 2 days ago,
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  Dale Junior said, OK, the names for the Hall of Fame are coming
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  up. They're getting ready to choose
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  some Hall of Fame inductees or you know, talk for the Hall of
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  Fame of this controversial decision.
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  You know who to put in the Hall of Fame.
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  Do you put in truck drivers that have won one championship?
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  Do you put in Xfinity drivers that have won one championship
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  and 30 races? OK, so you said now I'm going to
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  say this. He said that I was wrong that it
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  is the NASCAR Hall of Fame, all of NASCAR.
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  So John, this is what good friends we are.
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  We we disagree happily. We are like, oh, I disagree.
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  I agree. All right, tell everybody your
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  take on why you think I Kenny Wallace.
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  Why should I be in the Hall of Fame all.
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  Right. So everything I'm going to say,
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  Kenny is not me as your friend, this is me as a lifelong fan of
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  the sport cause I've been watching this sport since the
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  1980s and you have been involved in this sport since 1984.
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  That's 42 years of high level involvement in one of the
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  greatest sports in the world. As a crew chief, as a driver in
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  all three series, as a nine time winner, as a three time most
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  popular driver. He takes care of my money, so he
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  knows his stats. He's not remembering this stuff.
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  He just, he's that smart. 904 starts across all three series.
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  That alone puts you in pretty rare air, right Kenny?
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  You still hold the record As for the most starts in the Xfinity.
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  Series. Yeah, I do 547.
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  So I'm going to say something I agree.
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  I agree Kenny with Dale Earnhardt Junior and you can't
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  disagree with Dale Earnhardt junior and I know what Dale's
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  thinking. Dale Earnhardt junior is
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  thinking that Kenny Wallace stop it.
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  Deserve. Stop it.
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  In the NASCAR Hall of Fame and here's the argument like I mean
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  Dale said it very well, it's not the Cup, NASCAR Cup Hall of
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  Fame, it's not even the NASCAR winners Hall of Fame.
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  It's the NASCAR Hall of Fame. And that means two things.
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  First of all, NASCAR means the totality of NASCAR that's across
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  all series. If they wanted to make it the
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  Cup Hall of Fame, they would have said Cup Hall of Fame.
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  And look at the the current inductees.
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  It's not just drivers in the Cup level, it's crew chiefs, it's
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  owners, it's broadcasters. And you've done it all.
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  You've done, you've been an owner, but you've done you've
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  done it all. You know, if I look at.
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  Hey hold on, save your thought. I did own my red dog car at one
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  entry for Richmond, so technically I was an owner for
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  one race. Go ahead.
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  Well, then you have Yeah and yeah, but go ahead.
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  Fame. Let's talk about the fame part
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  of Hall of Fame. To me, fame means the totality
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  of your contribution to the sport and your legacy.
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  How you'll be remembered for your contributions to the sport,
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  not just by the fans, but by other competitors and
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  participants in the sport 203040 years from now.
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  Remember, you know, I said you've been involved for 42
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  years. NASCAR was only in its 30s when
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  you started as a crew chief in 1984.
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  You've been involved in NASCAR at a high level for more than
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  half of the existence of NASCAR. And when people think of NASCAR
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  and remember you, they're going to remember you in 20-30. 40
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  Will they? Will they remember my name more
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  than it will Champions I? Think they will remember your
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  name more than a lot of champions, but there are several
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  I think there are several champions, one time champions,
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  multiple race winners in cup that they will forget, but
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  they'll remember you. I mean you're still here.
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  There's, I mean you not only, not only, you know, not only
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  were you a great driver and and. And that let me interrupt, let
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  me OK. OK, a great driver.
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  OK, first of all, nine wins in the Xfinity Series, Yeah.
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  Don't discount what, what, what class that puts you in.
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  There are only about 40 drivers in history that have won more
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  than that in the Xfinity Series. How many drivers in the last 60
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  years have started NASCAR races? Thousands.
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  Thousands, right? There are only about 40 that
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  have won more times than you in the Xfinity Series.
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  So. Wow.
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  OK, so I wanted to share with you what he's been telling me.
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  And I'm like, John, stop it. And I'm embarrassed just
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  because, you know, I just grew up in a different era, You know,
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  my dad, Russ, born 1937, my brother Rusty, You know, we we
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  we did everything the hard way because we're from Missouri.
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  Nobody's ever good enough. I mean, and so when Dale Junior
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  said that, you know, like the third lowest level, like the
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  Truck Series, you know, if you're dominant in the Truck
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  Series, you get to stand next to Richard Petty, you know, Dale
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  Senior, Jimmie Johnson, I'm like, it just caught me off
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  guard. I was like, that doesn't make
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  sense to me. But you agree with Dale Junior?
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  OK, let me let me take let me take this approach now.
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  I, I saw this on the social media site X and I thought, hey,
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  that's a good idea. What about now?
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  You don't have to agree with me. What about if you get inducted
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  into the NASCAR Hall of Fame and if you're inducted into the Cup
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  Series, you get a gold jacket. Hear me out, a gold jacket.
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  And then if you if you are, if you are in the Xfinity Series,
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  which is considered the second best, you get like Kate, you
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  know, a, a platinum and and then a bronze, something like that
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  for the Truck Series. Is that far fetched?
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  I think that's above my pay grade.
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  But here's, but here's what I'll tell you.
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  Here's what I'll tell you. I think you already stand next
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  to those men. I mean, think about it.
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  I've seen your phone. I know who you talk to.
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  I know the people that call you when they need advice.
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  I know the people that you can call and reach out to right now
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  and and get advice or help from and they are some of the legends
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  in this sport you already. Oh, God, this is hard.
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  It's embarrassing as hell. OK, now listen.
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  Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.
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  And. So we agree.
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  We now agree with Dale Earnhardt Junior.
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  He agrees, but this is his argument.
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  Kenny. Wallace should be in the Hall of
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  Fame. Wow, OK, so this is he is like
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  minded with Dale Junior and I just once again I know I'm
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  repeating myself. I just never in AI can guarantee
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  you Rusty Wallace don't think like this or some of the I mean
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  Richard Petty no way. Not to mention, not to mention
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  you have created this powerhouse media company.
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  Yeah, yeah. 01 more thing, one more thing.
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  So talk about fame. The fame aspect of it, we are in
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  PE, Arima, Italy, Sicily. It's a little island, middle of
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  nowhere. We've been in Greece for the
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  last five days. Kenny Wallace has worldwide
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  reach. He has been recognized by fans.
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  Stop. It.
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  Obscure places. Sitting in a little cafe on a
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  side street in Athens, a man walked up to us, said I want to
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  meet you. He shook his hand.
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  I, I, I I'm a huge fan in the in the bus on the way here.
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  Oh, now I get it. You're saying Hall.
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  I'm fame. Oh, hell, put me in the Hall of
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  Fame. All right, everybody respond
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  right here. Do you agree with John Scotone
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  and Dale Junior? Hall of Fame?
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  I guess it means every damn body.