I get asked all the time what my most memorable moment at Daytona International Speedway is. It was also my most terrifying … the kind that makes your knees knock and your stomach start to turn. And I wasn’t even in a race car at the time.

My first race at Daytona was in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 1989. With three years of short-track experience in ASA under my belt, I didn’t really know what to expect in NASCAR at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. But I had beginner’s luck with the fastest car and won the pole position. We ran pretty competitively and led the first 30 laps. I was fighting for a top-10 finish, although down a cylinder, when I realized my brother Rusty was battling for the win against Dale Jarrett. Heading down the backstretch on the last lap, DJ was about to pass Rusty on the outside going into turn three when Rusty turned right and ran DJ into the wall, wrecking himself in the process.

I knew Rusty was in trouble. Big trouble.

I was all jacked up about our performance when I climbed out of the car and headed toward the team hauler. I was stunned to have started on the pole and finished 10th and was overwhelmed by the TV coverage and all the press around me. Then the great Dale Earnhardt, a friend of mine, came running after me, presumably to congratulate me. But he said, “Herman, you better get ready to run the Daytona 500 tomorrow.”

Huh?

I asked what the heck he was talking about. He said, “NASCAR is really mad at Rusty for running DJ into the wall and they’ll probably need to put another driver in the car and it should be you.”

Not what I wanted to hear.

At that moment, my heart sank and my stomach lurched. The possibility of starting the Daytona 500 was exciting but I didn’t know if I was ready. Terror set in and I sweated it out and after hours of trauma, maybe more on my part than Rusty’s, my brother came out of the big red and white trailer (Winston Cup Series trailer at the time). NASCAR had considered parking him for the Daytona 500 but at the last minute decided to let him race.

I was off the hook and so was Rusty. I had never driven a Cup car at the time and didn’t want to start that weekend. I could relax and just be Herman again.

Kenny Wallace keeps the mood light and humorous each week as an analyst on NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane on SPEED. Currently driving the No. 28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Wallace has amassed nine career wins and 10 pole positions and finished in the top 10 in series points every full season he has competed. Currently in his 19th year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Wallace finished runner-up in the points in 1991 and is one of only four drivers to have won the Most Popular Driver award multiple times. He also has vast experience in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series over a span of 18 years. To learn more about Wallace or his Nationwide Series sponsor, please visit www.kennywallace.com or www.BorderPatrol.gov/nascar.