Rusty Wallace Tells Classic Jeff Gordon Story

Episode 18 of "The Kenny Conversation" is NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace! In this clip Rusty tells a great story about Jeff Gordon.
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#racing #rustywallace #kennywallace #nascar #jeffgordon
***thumbnail & b-roll photos all by Getty Images/Allsport/ISC Images & Archives & Dozier Mobley/Getty Images courtesy of NASCAR Media, also from Kenny & Rusty Wallace's personal collection
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[@jessejames2546]

I saw Jeff Gordon race at Sharon Speedway when he was 13 or 14, onthe big half mile Sharon, a kid racing against Wolfgang Kinser & Swindell

[@FoCoBuzz]

I was a huge Rusty fan back in the 90s and my interest in the sport waned as he moved toward retirement. NASCAR hasn’t been the same without him and the legends of his era. I’m a die hard F1 guy now but I love seeing and hearing from Rusty!

[@lcalder2235]

It's all this golden off the track content that's pumping the sport up right now. Appreciate all the hard work that goes into it!

[@KennyWallace36]

thx so much, lcalder!

[@gunslinger6363]

My best years of watching Nascar was following this man from 87 till he retired. I still watch every race but that buzz that Nascar had back then is nowhere to be seen these days. Kenny ,being a Rusty fan also made me root for you and Mike every week. Thanks to all three of you for a whole lot of good racing and excitement that I miss dearly today. I joined the Rusty Wallace fan club in the early 90s and got to talk to your mom on the phone one day about something that i don't even remember but she was a pure delight to talk to. God bless you and yours.

[@richp5060]

Rusty and Buddy Parrot. Was a great combo

[@unconditionedcitizen]

This is the best content. I'm 45 and these two guys have seen it all, change.

[@seanwilson9117]

In a weird way, this move to identical cars sort of puts us back to our roots. The concept, initially, was you could go out and buy a Hudson or Plymouth off the showroom floor, do some minimal prep but keep the components the same and run it against other cars that were identical from the factory. This isn't a stock massed produced sedan, but it does even the playing field.

[@superdave77]

We all know Nascar started to die when Dale Sr died. Kenny and Rusty should be proud of having the opportunity to race in the "golden days", when there were multiple stars and it took a team to hang panels, work the engine to get the performance, body shop actually painted the cars and drivers had to actually have talent. I wasn't a fan of Rusty but I respected him. I always pulled for Kenny but Dale Sr was my driver. I was a little boy in 1981 and fell in love with the Wrangler car. My Mother liked Cale and Dad was a Darrell Waltrip fan. The good ole days are gone. Glad to see Kenny and Rusty healthy.

[@HOOSIERDADDY24]

NASCAR attendance and tv ratings kept growing until 2007. Dale Sr. had little to do with NASCAR's decline.

[@superdave77]

@@HOOSIERDADDY24 doubtful. Nascar started to die when Sr died. Fans still watched because of Jr and the aging stars of that era. Nascar today isn't what it was then and we all know ratings are terrible

[@unnamedownerofgoogle]

Super Dave hey Daniel won't give me a copy or the Gina program and he is stalking kids and yours kid on my mapsters and luring kids through my game we use to play together

[@joseeweaver3556]

Don't sell yourself short Herman Rusty is great but you don't take a back seat to anyone

[@monteconnor4713]

Ricky Rudd started in Cup in 1977, a bit before Rusty

[@davids5006]

Would be a good guest to have on here

[@mikechurch2359]

I watched rusty and dale fight week after week how much Nascar has changed is amazing

[@scable-eq7bp]

Kenny you always have the best content, we look forward to each episode.

[@mikehulet6094]

AJ is one of my all time favorites and I think he's better in the old cars!

[@wegottafishdude]

🤘🏻😎🤘🏻 Awesome stuff dude Got to have a story time with Kenny. It would be awesome.

[@KennyWallace36]

Fish!

[@edwarddudley8117]

Hello guys.. Always keeping up with you. Have fun!!

[@char2763]

Glad you finally had a conversation with Rusty

[@dannotwalruslarkin9324]

Herman, don't discount yourself saying you rode big brothers coat tails. Look where you are today, probably the most loved post-nascar career driver, doing what you love to do on your own terms, talking racing in your own videos with all the respect coming back from the people you interview! Buddy, you used avenues and saw doors open and slipped in before it closed. You've crushed it in your career and here you are today living a life that doesn't require looking for doors to open!!!! You come off thinking like you're lucky Rusty is your big bro. Yeah, you are, but I'd bet the house Rusty is looking at lil bro today like damn, I'm lucky Kenny is my lil bro look at him go today!

[@mrwinston_thepug]

Much respect to all - JG24 is The GOAT in modern times.

[@sergeantmasson3669]

@mrwinston_thepug, not even close.

[@mrwinston_thepug]

@@sergeantmasson3669 I dont care what your opinion is.

[@klk1900]

For those that race, no method is absolute. I raced from 4-26. And still do it for fun with my 6 kids. But in my early days I saw multiple old guys dictating what Springs&shocks to use. Dale Sr being one. They get stuck in a time capsule and refuse to change with the new aero packages. So in the late 90s we started beating the old guys with pull down shocks. The old guys had success in 1989 with 800lb spring. But in 1999 they still used the same setups not realizing times had changed and no way in hell would you win against our shocks with 5min rebound. Our spoilers were literally 0.5-1.5” lower at times which means it was impossible for the old guys to win. Even with a cheated up motor, you have so much drag compared to ours. So the #1 lesson is: NEVER BE STATIC. NEVER FALL IN THE TRAP OF GETTING STUCK IN A TIME CAPSULE. Keep up with the aero. My method I used. My setup book had a 250 day expiration date. Where every setup had to be Certified every 250days. My biggest fear was getting 10yrs behind the car like my mentors did. I genuinely wanted them to be successful but they couldn’t get out of their own way long enough

[@mikep1085]

Rusty and Team Penske was THE TEAM that lead the way with shock innovations! He was one of the first who realized the potential that a highly 'crafted' shock could deliver on the track! Great times.... it was fun to watch! 😀

[@kentstephens4770]

It's a whole new world in Nascar racing today. Crew chiefs can't do the little things they use to do to get a little edge on the competition.

[@treyrags]

I'm with Rusty. The new format has "equalized" drivers and doesn't allow the cream to rise to the top as much. I also miss guys that could do it all (tune and drive), but those days are gone

[@darrenferrell693]

Awesome

[@timbutler8316]

Rusty interview awesome and now brother Mike! Cant wait Kenny! Get a Ricky Rudd on some time.

[@charliewhite3992]

That's the problem with NASCAR today there is no grey area to work in so you can find or get a small advantage to go a little bit faster

[@o24333]

I was at Dover in the mid-90's and was listening to Rusty on the scanner arguing with Buddy Parrot wanting to take a half pound out of the right front tire. Biddy was telling Rusty that the tire would blow. I was thinking that if a half pound would blow the tire, they were running on the edge.

[@nardydavis24]

Kenny ,Rusty, Dale Jr & Sr , Tony, Mark and Jimmie gave us a great era of racing

[@keenenbenton9843]

Jeff,DJ, the burton, the labontes, bill, Rudd,Kenseth the list is endless

[@psg6314]

I know rusty wasn't high on the Danica train but I wonder what he thinks about haile deegan and great video keep up the good work God bless from GA stay safe

[@Cancelthis1541]

I was always rooting for Danica. 5'2" 100lbs driving a car that weighs almost 2 tons. She was a bas ass and got blamed for a lot of wrecks she didn't cause. But she would get in other drivers faces and it was real, it wasn't for show.

[@158shm]

You know if your lucky family bonds get better as we age , I’m sure that’s no difference with your family🏁🏁🏁🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@johnwhite993]

Rusty came to hills department store in Bristol in ‘86. He was driving the Kodiak car I believe. I worked there but couldn’t go out to meet him. That was the days in nascar. Now it’s basically iroc. No tinkering allowed which stinks.

[@hughstephenson2957]

Some of these drivers nowadays are only there to drive.. they aren't to touch the mechanicals... Most couldn't change a tire on their own personal car..let alone their cup car

[@ironhead3903]

I was a huge 3 fan but always respected Rusty on the track. I'll always remember Earnhardt and Rusty at Richmond in the 90's running door to door for the lead for 50 or 60 laps straight some of the best racing I ever saw. Nascar has taken the driver out of the equation for the most part and the grandstands prove it every week. Its a shame

[@scable-eq7bp]

Would you please do a video about Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series driver Jade Avedisian. Her car craft at 16 years old is phenomenal, she just won her 5th race of the year and I believe she took over the points lead. It wouldn't surprise me to see Toyota move her up to ARCA West.

[@whippy107]

What I find interesting with the new car is seeing drivers like Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson, who are both very talented, struggle to get a feel for the new car. I understand that Larson is still winning, but it appears he still makes mistakes by trying to put the car places that probably would have worked with the old car but will get you in trouble with the new car. I'm sure you all know Newman understands the mechanics of race cars extremely well, but he gets in a new gen car and is extremely frustrated with how it drives. New gen car is forcing teams and drivers to adapt or get left behind, and that's fun to watch.

[@Be.authentic_]

The cars are all the same but the drivers still have to use their talent to drive it and figure out how to get a edge with their driving ability. And remember what works and doesnt in any given situation regarding the aspects of this new car. Its a more of a mental aspect now than it use to be and that is attributed to the VR and AI age we are going into now. William Byron has a strong AI and VR background along with alot of these drivers coming in now. Times are and have changed regarding what talent is required to be successful in NASCAR. The days of just being a great wheel man like Ricky Rudd, Cale Yarborough, Tony Stewart etc arent gone but it isnt nearly as important or a requirement as it use to be to be successful and win in nascar. Interesting times.

[@c.johnweir182]

Like #100

[@speed6407]

Dale Earnhardt only had young Competition for a short time in his career because of Fate he is remembered for 7 Championships, because the two young drivers that were in his league Tim Richmond and Davey Alison left this world way too early!

[@TheTheratfarmer]

Kenny!, Lol. I rock cars, you know dale never did well, untill he found a sweet spot. Dale would get into it with some one that want's to pinch me into the wall.

[@perryearle7419]

Best way I've heard it put: the new car has been dumbed down.

[@mattfulmer4243]

NASCAR went on life support when Dale died. Introducing the COT effectively pulled the plug. Whatever chance it had at being resurrected was killed when it went politically far left and became "woke".

[@cole-trickle50]

The Suits running Nascar are Clueless . Part of what made the sport so Great was the ingenuity . The old days are gone forever what a shame

[@unbrokenamerican9921]

If you really think about it technology has ruined NASCAR. its why race fans have left and why the racing is so robotic. if nascar ran the old cars say like from the 90's, 5 lugs and sheet metal the racing would be way better. no computers you had to know how to set up a car and what it needed to run faster.

[@tjcaruthers5593]

The story about Jeff Gordon....take everything Rusty said flip it and that's more of how the real encounter occurred. This guy retires in 2005 and is still all butt hurt about Jeff Gordon. I wonder if the thought ever crossed Rusty's brain that maybe Jeff Gordon understood the car a little bit better than he did. It wasn't a natural understanding Jeff had. It took Ray Evernham and Dale Earnhardt to help him understand the car., but once he got it....

[@biglazybilly]

I miss the days of Rusty and Dale and Mark and Cale and Bobbie You Guys drove what you brong and fixed it That was racing! now it is too cookie cutter cars anybody can drive them I do not watch asscar anymore it is WOKE.

[@robert4371]

I totally understand that one rusty for sure I think rusty is the man

[@JonDelatteSr]

NASCAR has taken the personalities and enginuity out of racing and with all the rules, format changes, involvement in social and political issues its made NASCAR boring and not worth watching anymore.

[@sergeantmasson3669]

Jeff Gordon, the cheater. Jimmy Johnson and Richard Petty, too.

[@travisstoneking4049]

The best Gordon and Earnhardt moment ever is when Jeff is practicing and Dale is being interviewed and says Jeff is a idiot practicing while it started raining and Jeff ended up wrecking. Sure do miss the man in black. 🖤🤍❤️

[@thekingwade1]

I think they should do away with stage racing and ask Rusty what about bringing in more manufacturers it would be so nice to see different cars besides ford ,chey,and Toyota

[@robert4371]

Cars aren't like in the day for sure and know what rusty is saying today

[@brendandillinger9903]

Hey Kenny, is there any chance bubba Wallace, your cousin, signs to Hendricks Motorsports next year?

[@chadhenderson9732]

Nascar will never ever ever ever be what it was. Maybe 2 or 3 with talent. Nobody has to work hard anymore. As long as u have money. It just sucks

[@brendandillinger9903]

I think Hailie Deegan needs to replace Kyle Larson at Hendrick based on talent alone

[@brendandillinger9903]

This is why I hate Jeff Gordon