Rusty Wallace Once Drove 242 MPH at Talladega & Lost Control!

In this special episode of "Kenny Conversation" Rusty Wallace shares a classic NASCAR story about testing at Talladega without restrictor plates and going 242 mph!
#nascar #racing #kennywallace #rustywallace #talladega
Brought to you by JEGS! Click here: jegs.io/KennyWallace & text KENNY to 36727 to save up to $100!
***thumbnail photos by Getty Images courtesy of NASCAR Media & Charlie Marlow
JEGS has been in business since 1960.
Racers selling to racers.
Focusing on American Muscle - but also big product line of automotive tools, garage gear & other performance parts.
JEGS is well established with racers of all kinds, including the NHRA, bracket racing, circle track & more!
Free shipping on orders over $199.
Unrivaled expertise from techs.
Millions of parts for every car person's needs.
Sign up for their email for exclusive deals!

[@jimmykircus5373]

Still remember this day like it was yesterday! I work for Talladega work in the sign shop . I was in the grandstands off of turn 4 ! And let me tell you I've been to a lot of NASCAR races but to hear this one that day when it came off that turn with no restrictor plate on and as fast as it was going was unbelievable . At that time I was up there repainting the seats and pressure washing ! But it will be a day I will never forget ! And thank you once again Rusty for all your dedicated years to NASCAR ! Sincerely, sign shop guy Talladega 👍

[@toddgross8099]

Rusty Wallace a Nascar legend. Thank you Rusty for all the great memories.

[@lowcountryantiques3696]

242 in a car today at Daytona, another car takes the air off of your backend, and you would land in Charlotte.

[@kevingallagher6804]

Got that right…

[@brandonnoname]

I wish somebody was recording this session.

[@andyjennings15]

They did that's why you are watching it right now.........

[@SoundWave1984-cu6xb]

​@@andyjennings15 He's talking about the test session that was on the track.

[@ryanespinoza7297]

@@andyjennings15🤡

[@PursellJr88]

​@andyjennings15 🤣🤣🤣

[@travis3732]

There is a guy who did a land speed record using a unlimited nascar, also mike skinner ran a unlimited truck at goodwood

[@TheHobGoblin]

Love seeing Rusty again, one of my heros

[@toddbob55]

Rusty is still one of my favorite drivers

[@gregorygolden1296]

Can't imagine going that fast in a stockcar. Sure wish Rusty would of run another season or two before he called it a day. Rusty is one of the True Legends of NASCAR. Thank you guys for telling us about that day.

[@maplebear6527]

Dale's death made a lot of the older guys reconsider how much it was worth it.

[@gregorygolden1296]

@@maplebear6527 you are spot on.

[@jasonm7121]

I can’t even imagine having the front end go light and go from the bottom of the track to the top in probably 1/2-1 second at 242mph. I wonder if he had a moment to himself either after he made his run or a couple of days later and thought to himself, man, the tire was shot just after 2 laps. I’m pretty freaking lucky that I didn’t kill myself. You gotta have a set of nuts on yourself to go against your intelligent logic to know that speeds like that in a stock car don’t and shouldn’t go hand in hand. But here is is, Rusty the man, going in his hotrod and proving that in a way, it could be done, just not for long. Bill holds the record officially, unofficially Rusty is the true track record holder. 242mph, mad respect.🙌🏻

[@charlesd.3749]

You guys have owned life. What a blast you guys have had and always giving back to the sport.. Wallace Brothers brought a staple with them when Rusty joined Nascar. Congratulations for sure.

[@stew8834]

It's really cool kenny that you and rusty are so close. You both are an inspiration to others. 👍

[@scotthayes5619]

Love these stories Herm! Rusty is an underated superstar of nascar. he has truely done it all.

[@chadmears136]

I want some Rusty n Jeff Gordon rival stories. Rusty Wallace is always the best. Thanks Kenny n Rusty 😊

[@iceman_fox1]

This is the coolest story I've ever heard from my favorite driver of all time

[@davedewitt3988]

Wish Rusty were still racing... miss him!!

[@damann2889]

Kenny, did you ever watch Rusty race!?! He wrecked virtually every time he raced at Talladega. Daytona too!! Rusty was my wife's favorite driver, so we always had him tuned in on the scanner along with Bill Elliott, my favorite driver. One time back in the 90's, we were at one of the Daytona races. Rusty ended up in the wall during that race. Over the radio, his crew chief or spotter asked him if he was alright. There was silence over the radio for a few seconds. Rusty then exploded! "I HATE THIS G** D*** PLACE!!! I HIT THE F****** WALL EVERY TIME I COME HERE!!!" One of my most memorable races I ever attended was the 1993 Winston 500. We sat on row four, down towards the end of the frontstretch. We got the tickets very late and they were about the best tickets we could get. Turned out to be one of the best seats in the house that day. Rusty was actually doing pretty good that race, so we sat out the rain delay that stopped that race with less than ten laps to go. Glad we did! What a finish!! After Dale spun Rusty coming to the finish line, Rusty ended up coming to a stop almost directly in front of us. While I certainly remember that car flipping over and over, my most vivid memory is something you don't get from watching it on TV - The sound. That "BAM...BAM...BAM" every time that car would bounce and hit the ground was louder that you'd think (go figure! Who'd ever think a 3,700 lb. car going 200 MPH flipping over and over and over would be loud, right?). With most of the sheet metal gone from the car, it was hard to tell which end was the front of the car and which end was the back. A broken wrist seemed like he got off pretty easy compared to what we feared. I was afraid he was dead.

[@heavi-armed-infadel]

I've been waiting years for the details of this story!! Awesome!

[@CompleteToiletGarage]

Holy Christ, had to pick my jaw up off the floor after hearing this one, Herminator!!! Keep em coming with your brother!

[@andrewhayes88]

I would love to know what top speed did Bill Elliott reach when he did his 212mph avg speed for the Pole at Talladega in 1987. Those cars in the 80's looked like a total handful at those speeds, let alone 240+mph in a Mid 2000's Cup car. Incredible story.

[@kennethfeld6639]

I think it was like 226 - the 242 wasn't with a aero legal nascar

[@DNR5586]

@@kennethfeld6639 I heard the same, 220 something.

[@Z17xMachine]

Yeah it was 220+ for sure.

[@paulshamblin6260]

246. I was there. Eli Gould was announcing it at the track. Lead the race by 7 seconds. Went out with 13 to go and Bobby Allison won. The year the guy stole the pace car. Police beat the💩 out of the guy.

[@jimcorby8801]

That guy was Rod Rutledge from Talladega. He was a wild one at that age!

[@markamytraver5762]

I had dinner with Rusty at a Pontiac event at the Poconos. We had a great time and he asked each one of us why we were there. Truly a class act!

[@williambowen1771]

What a ride of a lifetime rusty!!

[@rattroll4803]

Rusty Wallace & Cale Yarborough my favorite driver's of all time growing up!!!! Hard to watch Nascar now, but always have fond memories of Rusty!!! A True Champion!!! Thanks Kenny for this video...Much love to the Wallace Family!!!!

[@Zer0C00lness]

My favorite NASCAR driver from back in the day. I saw Rusty lose 2 laps due to a flat tire at Mobile International Speedway in an All Pro race, and come back to win. I have been a Rusty fan ever since.

[@SquatchyBunker]

I'd heard that they once pulled the plate on Rusty's car and he went 230. I didn't know if they just did it for 'shits n giggles' after a test session or what. Great to hear the whole story from the man himself! Thanks, Herm...

[@jonnobarrie1744]

Was for a nextel comms test not shits and giggles

[@kevingallagher6804]

Bill Elliot turned a 212 at Talladega in 1987…

[@davisc1926]

Man, just seeing that 1989 Winston trophy in the background, I immediately replay the moment when Rusty turned DW coming out of 4 and the fight that ensued in the garage. One of the many memorable moments in NASCAR!!

[@saleen367]

Rusty is such a likeable guy ... much respect brother! Pretty sure that had to be a pucker moment flying around at those speeds in NASCAR trim. I remember Lyn St. James testing a non NASCAR spec 88 T-Bird at Talladega with a top speed of 232.4 MPH. Open wheel IndyCar is one thing, but a full weight stock car is a different animal all together.

[@grizzlyridgerunner]

That's a full. Send a great job to the Wallace racing family

[@mikeyoungblood1642]

Thank you Kenny for giving even us newer fans amazing access to your expertise and experience in racing and access to your brother Rusty and other NASCAR legends who breakdown silly arguments us fans have with each other! That is an amazing story! Also Rusty looks like he could still drive a full schedule! You are doing amazing Mr Kenny !!!

[@leethomas9198]

That's what i miss about the old NASCAR. I always felt the restrictor paltes didn't belong and the driver would need to be smart enough to make it till the end and drive the crap out of it to win. It was always great to watch people pass from a long pit. Power on display!😁

[@tomhawkins7351]

great story!! love Rusty one of the best ever, my Ontario Canada license plate NASCAR2 is is in honor of your brother Rusty.

[@charlessommers7218]

Good show. Great to see Rusty 😊

[@Dave-vh6ww]

You probably would have been killed if you crashed at 242 miles an hour on that track,thank god you didn't crash.

[@jennifursun3303]

agree

[@georgew.5639]

In 1986 Tim Richmond ran 240 mph in a test at Talladega. He was driving a Monte Carlo at the time. With a few aerodynamic modifications of course. I remember reading about this in Road and Track magazine. I also just looked it up on the internet to make sure that I remembered this correctly. But now I’m thinking that it wasn’t at Talladaga. It was at a test track somewhere. He and Al Holbert were involved. I do remember that Mark Donohue ran 240 in a specially prepared Porsche. This was in 1975. Also at Talladega.

[@1tylerproud]

I think it was called TRC. It was a huge circle.

[@db-cd8hx]

read the story about the Porsche Gail Banks did the turbos it was a v10 quad turbo set up like 1200hp

[@ASennaFan]

@@db-cd8hxit was a turbocharged flat-12, Porsche 917/30 Can Am car

[@sergeantmasson3669]

@georgew.5639, FALSE. The last driver to do 200+ mph, during a race, was Bill Elliott in 1987. Test session doesn't count.

[@ronaldfielder9584]

I remember that story,but it wasn’t at Talladega. It was at a 5 mile long test track in Ohio

[@mikegibson1771]

Kw just saw this can't believe I've not seen this I remember Rusty did that always was a fan of him since modifieds in Malden MO and followed him up through the ranks . So glad you could show the spotlight on your big brother. I met Russ as a kid that night in Malden mo after he won plus wreck on victory lap lol . Then met him in paducah at a PPG paint store I was so sick he signed my car and leather jacket then Rus said you want a picture man too I said I don't want to make you sick ,his exact words were without fans like you I wouldn't be here let's get a picture. Showed me what I always new he was genuine The next weekend Dega as this was on a Monday that's when I met my driving hero .Keep up the great work KW I'm so glad to have the opportunity to subscribe to your channel bub so far it had been educational.

[@michaelsauren4493]

I vaguely remember a beer commercial with Rusty and something to do with ice hockey, me being Canadian I really loved that commercial

[@links5957]

Last night I watch 2000 Talladega wiston 500 race, what a race. Can't help Dale Sr cross the grass to make the finish for the win just 5 or 3 laps to go. Probably one of the best races in talladega. You guys were incredible in that race

[@dagorod3478]

Great family, great racers, great stories! Thanks Rusty and Thanks Kenny!

[@brianthomas5228]

I can't get enough of your videos. These videos really make my day.

[@user-ub1gm6jk7b]

Great story indeed. Love Rusty he is such a great driver and champion. Thanks for sharing Herm Love ya

[@jaycensored]

I love this new series, Kenny. I hope it keeps going.

[@2DLAKE2]

Thanks for the story Rusty! Fan since the late 80’s! Awesome 😎💯

[@justindeseranno3209]

What a badass :) this is currently my favorite KZbin channel once again I say keep this up :)

[@Z17xMachine]

That Lee Petty crash is remarkable. It's such an iconic moment in NASCAR. Lee Petty seemed like a really cool guy in his later years interviews. He was great to watch.

[@Trad_chad1122]

A great explanation as to why you don't go unrestricted at Daytona and Talladega.

[@joekuchnicki8338]

Awesome Story. Thanks for sharing. Always entertaining 🏁

[@bobhemphut4011]

Thanks for sharing more stories with us Kenny and Rusty. As a huge fan of Rusty since the early 90s, I havent really had a favorite driver since Rusty retired. Kinda fell away from nascar when Jimmie was dominating around 2007 and got more into local dirt racing. The last few years been trying to follow along more, but the stages and the pts system kind of make it gimmicky racing. Not to mention some of the drivers act like entitled whiners.

[@RoastBeefSandwich]

Thanks for archiving these stories. More folks should be doing this.

[@alfee9411]

Stapleton 42 on KZbin is well worth the time ...

[@RoastBeefSandwich]

@@alfee9411 Wow thank you. Somehow that channel has never come up for me until now.

[@Lenny_Hondo]

This is Gold!

[@DNR5586]

Thank you for telling this story. I had always heard it was a "tire test" when Rusty did this. Great video!

[@richardferrell7412]

The Nashville Fairgrounds was my home track and I’ve always been a Bill Elliott fan. I remember Rusty winning several late model races at the Fairgrounds when I was dating my future wife in the early 80’s. I was always like man I can’t stand that guy and because of that my girlfriend kinda became a Rusty fan. I’ll never forget going to Bristol for the Cup Race and me telling her that her precious Rusty wouldn’t be winning that day because he had never won a Cup race at that point. Well Rusty got his first Cup win that day and I had egg on my face. lol Now I’m glad I was there that day but back then I was mad. lol

[@kennethfeld6639]

I have tried to go back thru YT and look for old qualifying videos where they used to give speeds at the ends of the straits. When Awesome Bill set the quali record, I think they were around 225 or so on the back straight.

[@dennisg.3364]

It's awesome to see my two favorite drivers...brothers shooting the shit about racing. Great story!

[@billsanders3604]

That was amazing! Great story. I need more!!

[@RandyHall-nt9qn]

So good to see rusty thanks I enjoyed it so much

[@TheJTTaylor000]

Great great story. Thanks for sharing guys. Kenny, we’d love to hear any story we can get.

[@jake-ps3bq]

At work we would talk about how it would be if you can run that track on the engine. Now I know it would be a boring race. They would be in the pit getting tires most of the race. Great to see Rusty

[@vg452]

Imagine the Miller Lite Time Machine commercial in real life. Rusty even hit 240 on the speed dial in that spot. If that wasn’t an omen, nothing is.

[@tomanderson6335]

I wonder where that woodchuck is today...😁

[@chainraiderdiscgolf]

Very cool story, thanks Kenny!!!

[@mikebarran7789]

Another awesome episode!

[@EnvirotekCleaningSystems]

One thing is that Bill didn't have a plate for his 212.8XX time. That is the race that Bobby Allison wrecked that brought on the plates.

[@mikecross4350]

No it isnt

[@mikecross4350]

Bill lapped the field 2 times in that race after he blew a oil line in that race.....how fast was he going? The others were running over 200

[@WELCOMETOTHEPITINFO]

​@@mikecross4350supposedly he was running well over 220 in the straight aways

[@mikecross4350]

​@@WELCOMETOTHEPITINFO😂😂😂was you there?

[@roundearthshill248]

@@mikecross4350 as I understood, it was the same weekend. The same race that Bobby got up into the grandstands.

[@myclassiccarstory]

Rusty was my favorite driver. After he retired I pretty much quit watching NASCAR. I tried to find him at bbb a couple years ago so that he could sign one of my diecast cars at Pigtrail HD. Should've seen the funny looks I was getting carrying around a diecast car at a motorcycle rally hahaha. I never did see Rusty though. Loved the story and hope to hear more of them. I would love to hear some Jeff Gordon vs Rusty stories.

[@coldhardart]

Great to hear and understand 👍

[@tompiper1480]

that was a great conservation with your brother. I couldn't even image going 242 mph it would scare me to go that fast

[@danielblount9246]

Man so cool 😎 to see you guys kicking it. Rusty and Kenny. So cool man 😊

[@Mr_Dopey]

Nice to see Ole Rubberneck Rusty spittin' stories!

[@williamfrazier3822]

What a great story! Wish you would interview Rusty more often - love these stories!

[@Larry_M6790]

Great story, looking forward to watching more videos of you two together.

[@hankcromer2935]

242 mph. Wow. Thankful that Rusty didn’t completely lose control of that car. Great story and thanks for sharing it.

[@lax0598]

Awesome story!!!

[@CensoredFreedom615]

This is so cool. Rusty was one of the many I cut out of circle track and stock car racing magazine and tape to my wall.

[@dannyharris5310]

Nice Kenny! Uncle Rusty about to take flight❤ another good episode brother🤘

[@NCWoodlandRoamer]

Hey Kenny, in 1989 I was 13 and at both of the Busch races at Charlotte. We would stay to see Winston Cup practice after the race. My brother and I were Rusty Wallace fans and when practice would start we would go down to the bottom row and wave our checkered flags that our dad got us at Rusty every time he came around in that #27 Kodiak Pontiac!

[@eddieerskine2013]

Awesome video, we need more of these with you and rusty I could listen to these stories all day. If I hit the lottery the first thing I'm gonna do is hire you and rusty to come hang out with me for a day or so talking about these nascar stories!

[@Schteve.0]

great video! I couldn't imagine running 242 in that generation of car. Crazy!

[@troybowen3024]

Best Conversation Ever 🫡👍👍

[@k2rocksstl]

Good shit!!!

[@edwardgensheimer6640]

Good hearing from Rusty that was my era. I was always a mark Martin fan in the 90's but my mom was a die hard Rusty fan.

[@justinburton918]

Thanks for a awesome story Rusty ❤

[@bigelile07]

I dunno...this sounds like a fishing story. If you go back and read articles from 2004 he said none of that. Here is what he said in 2004. "We hit 228 at the end of the straightaway," he said. Wallace's top lap speed was 216.306 and was 25 to 30 mph faster than with a restrictor plate. "It was a helluva deal that I certainly will remember for the rest of my life," Wallace added. "We'd all been wondering what it would feel like to run at Talladega again without the plates, and now I know. I'll bet we could be running speeds up to 235 without the plates if we spent time doing some tweaking. But I'll tell you this-there's no way we could be out there racing at those speeds. It was neat to be out there running that fast by myself, but it would be insane to think we could have a pack of cars out there doing that."

[@ChrisMusson-kv8ph]

Yeah he’s lying. He said Nextel was the sponsor? How? Winston was the sponsor until the end of 2003 plus’s he said he was driving a Ford. They switched to Dodge in 2004.

[@bigelile07]

@@ChrisMusson-kv8ph The test was for Nextel.

[@kdwaynec]

Agreed, published reports at the time cited the 228 and 216 figures. Cool enough, but I'm thinking Wallace is stretching the truth here.

[@joeshmoe1585]

Hey Kenny, Rusty definitely had that thing honkin at Talladega for sure but did you know that in Feb of 1965 Leroy Yarbrough was clocked at 240 mph on the straightaways at Daytona in a 65 Dodge Coronet that was prepared by Raymond Fox? He did it on them old rock hard, skinny tires too...

[@ravagingwolverine666]

Great to get more context for this. I remember reading about that situation not long after it happened. It was easy to miss the reporting. I thought it was really cool that they got to see how the cars could run without the plates and I've thought about that test several times over the years. I never doubted Rusty when he said the cars wouldn't be able to race at those speeds. Good to hear why that is. In looking into this again, I see that Tony Stewart was citing Rusty's run as a reason NASCAR should have eliminated the plates, but seemed unaware of the instability and tire wear. I did want to add that I think Penske had switched to Dodge for that season, it was probably that for the test.

[@ThePlatinumEagle]

There isn’t a lot out there on this story! Great video Kenny!

[@ChrisMusson-kv8ph]

His story is wrong. Winston went away at the end of 2003. Plus’s he was driving a Dodge not a Ford in 2004.

[@DavidMarcy-pp6jv]

That's awesome. Rusty Wallace Rules ❤❤❤❤❤

[@MichaelJones1527]

Not trying to correct you Herman, but Bill Elliott set the record in 1987. I also have one of the spark plugs from that car that was given to me by Mr. Earl Parker the champion representative that lived in Lattimore, NC. I used to be the RPS/FedEx delivery guy for Mr. Parker.

[@deplorableb.r.4211]

Rusty was my guy!! #2 MGD Pontiac

[@AnDrEw122100]

Love these stories from Rusty .

[@Indy1977TX]

2:19 Rusty and Penske started running Dodges in 2003 and Nextel came on as the NASCAR presenting sponsor in 2004, so pretty sure Rusty is in an Intrepid for this test. Loved rooting for Rusty in the #2.

[@stevemcmahon5747]

This is the best story!

[@retirednavyrob]

Love your talks with your brother.

[@bryanhallman8183]

There had been a Road & Track test between Al Holbert's Lowenbrau Porsche 962 and Tim Richmond's Folger's #25 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Al's car maxed at 217mph, and Tim's car went 240mph...

[@saltybildo9448]

Good stuff kenny

[@nathanfisher1826]

Thank you 😊

[@paulshamblin6260]

Bill Elliott was running 246 on the backstretch during the 85 race.

[@Logan912]

Nope, not at all. He would’ve broken closed circuit speed records if he did. Hell, Group C prototype cars couldn’t even do that speed at Le Mans at the time.

[@nednobody3253]

Cool Rusty Wallace Trivia, From back when Nascar was Real..😎

[@mikebrown2425]

I remember first hearing about this that is was a tire test on the rumor mill. Good to hear it for what it was. One of my favorite drivers, Rusty could continue driving a car fast even after the rubber was gone. Sport was never the same after Rusty retired.

[@7viewerlogic670]

Great video!

[@biglon62]

Rusty is the man will always be! Them Wallace boys😂

[@brianclifton9988]

Awesome. I've met Rusty before. Hope to meet Kenny one day.

[@Blasko86]

Met Rusty at an autograph session back in 03 or 04, super cool guy 👍

[@willcojak9650]

Two great guys.

[@tonystewart7287]

Great stories 😎😎

[@robertkutz]

GREAT SHOW.🥰👍👍👍