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The Queen City Princess
Being an owner of a sports franchise in the city of Charlotte,
North Carolina, (also known as the Queen City), I was quickly
made aware that that city is a racing town. As I traveled from
Atlanta during last years season, I stayed at a hotel in
Concord, which is just north of Charlotte. The
Lowes Motor Speedway
is located in Concord, and I could swear I heard racing going on
all night, though it was probably just the cars passing by on
nearby I-85.
What I was certain about, is the passion for racing in this
quickly growing metropolis that is Charlotte, which is arguabley
the bank capital of the United States. In fact, Charlotte just beat
out Atlanta to be the host of the
NASCAR
Hall Of Fame in a
campaign similar to those by the Olympic committee that accepts
bids from cities world wide to become hosts for the winter and
summer Olympic games.
It seemed a good bet to win this honor, as 82 percent of the Nextel
Cup teams reside in Charlotte.
Part of that 82 percent, are a well known family hailing originally
from St. Louis, and, are somewhat NASCAR royalty for the amount of
success and family members involved in the sport.
Introducing the racing Wallaces. Three brothers, Rusty, Mike and Ken.
Rusty Wallace is now a commentator and almost assuredly will have his
bust portrayed in that new NASCAR Hall Of Fame as he is the 8th all
time winningest driver (tied for 5th in the modern era). Brothers Mike
and Ken are no slouches either, as each of them have carved out pretty
successful careers for themselves as Mike has won on virtually every
kind of track you can race on, and younger brother Kenny, who won his
very first race and, almost beat racing icon Dale Earnhardt, Sr. in a
last lap "shootout" in Talledaga in 2000.
Now, the Wallaces have another star on the rise. Mike Wallace's 17 year
old daughter, a phenom named Chrissy.
Recently, good friend and contributing writer to my online magazine
"All Ballers Allowed",
Ms. Sybrena Foster, (who has her own company
VaSy~4, DBA Sequoia~4 Creative Marketing & Promotions), got to chill
with the Mike Wallace family, including his lovely wife Carla, and
the perky dynamo that is Chrissy. I asked Ms. Foster if she would mind
interviewing Chrissy for the e-zine, as long as it did not interfere
with her schooling and race preparations. Young Chrissy was kind
enough to oblige, and here are excerpts from that interview:
Q1. Would Chrissy Wallace be an aspiring race car driver if her Dad and Uncles were not drivers?
Chrissy: "I personally feel that I would be an aspiring driver because of my talent and my personality. I think more young girls would look up to me if they saw me win."
Q2. What is a day like, in the life of Chrissy Wallace, on her race day? How does that differ on race day for your Dad and Uncles?
Chrissy: "On a race day for me, I get up early, eat a healthy breakfast, then head out to the track and look over the car and help with what needs to be done.
Then, normally (I) go to the drivers meeting, come back, talk to the crew, and get ready for practice and (the) race. It's similar with what my dad and uncles do (on race day)."
Q3. What role does your Mother play in preparation on race day?
Chrissy: "My mother is a big part of my preparation for a race. She always talks to me and gets me excited, and tells me how well of a job I will do. She supports me a lot."
Q4. How is it in school, being an heiress to a racing legacy of royalty? Is there jealousy, support, or a little of both?
Chrissy: "In school their is more jealousy because people think I am spoiled and get what I want. (But) actually, I don't. I pay for my own stuff. I use to have a job and paid for everything of mine."
Q5. Do you ever think about the possibility of wrecking, and how has your father helped you mentally prepare for racing?
Chrissy: "I have thought about wrecks but I do not focus on it because it's something that you think wont happen to you. My father helps me out by telling me what to look for and what to watch out for."
Q6. If racing does not pan out for you, what would be your next passion?
Chrissy: "If racing does not work out, I want to go to college and major in buisness and marketing, (and hopefully), get involved with racing related work like PR (public relations)."
Q7. What would be the dream come true for Chrissy Wallace as a female athlete? Winning the Cup Championship? Beating her Dad or Uncle? Or, will just competing at the NASCAR level be a dream come true?
Chrissy: "A dream come true for me would be for me to become the 1st SUCCESSFUL FEMALE NASCAR driver, win the championship, and have my family by my side at every race."
Q8. What do you think of Danika Patrick?
Chrissy: "Danika Patrick proves that women can do it as good as men can. She is someone that young girls look up to and want to be (like)."
Q9. What advice would you give another woman looking to get into racing?
Chrissy: "The advice I would give to a young women looking into racing, and/or wanting to get started into racing, is women can do it as good as guys can. Go out their and strive for the best and have fun, always keep your head up."
That is sound advice from one so young, but what would you expect from a Princess? We hope to keep hearing and seeing big things from this young lady of Racing Royalty. You can go to www.motorsportslounge.com to rap with Chrissy as she has a forum on the site ran by my man Jason Stix Buckley.
Also, please feel free to stop by www.racinforalivin.com and vote Chrissy into the top 15.
This story is the exclusive property of "All Ballers Allowed", a division of Charlotte Krunk Basketball, LLC, and cannot be printed, duplicated, or used otherwise without expressed written consent of the author and publisher.
Copyright 2006
President/CEO
Duane "Spyder" Hughes
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