Even years after stepping away from NASCAR, Kenny Wallace remains one of the most popular voices in the sport.
As much as fans loved him for his wild moments behind the wheel, Wallace may have grown even more popular since retiring. He still races dirt tracks, but these days he’s better known as a media figure.
Wallace isn’t shy about sharing his thoughts on the NASCAR world, even if his takes sometimes spark backlash. But that’s never stopped him before. And in his latest “Coffee With Kenny” episode, Wallace was floored by some new info about the Indy 500.
Kenny Wallace’s Reaction After Learning About Latest Indy 500 News
In the newest edition of “Coffee With Kenny,” Wallace opened up with some local weather talk before jumping into motorsports. Walking around his lawn with a cup of coffee, he gave a heartfelt update on the tornado that hit St. Louis.
He described it as a sunny day before the EF3 tornado hit, and offered his thoughts and prayers to those who lost their lives in the storm.
Then he switched gears to the big doubleheader weekend — the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600. First up, he addressed Kyle Larson’s recent run-ins during Indy 500 practice.
“By the way, Kyle Larson keeps wrecking,” Wallace said.
He then zeroed in on a bigger issue: the way the new IndyCars are handling: “Everybody for the Indy 500, they’re saying that these cars are handling horribly,” he said.
“Coffee with Kenny”
1- TORNADO🌪️ in downtown St.Louis
2- SOLD OUT!
330 THOUSAND PEOPLE for the #Indy500 😳 pic.twitter.com/u1flcs2rwa— Kenny Wallace (@Kenny_Wallace)
He pointed to Santino Ferrucci of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, who admitted he was “scared to death” driving the new Chevrolet. Wallace didn’t hold back, blaming the car’s poor engineering and design for the chaos — and noting that IndyCar isn’t the only series under fire, with NASCAR’s Next Gen cars still drawing heat, too.
Interestingly, while other drivers were worried, Wallace said Larson hadn’t complained, comparing him to Jeff Gordon, who was the only HMS driver who didn’t gripe about the stock car during the early days of the Brickyard 400.
“It is going to be a wild Indy 500!” Wallace said after briefly touching on qualifying.
Then came the stat that truly stunned him. Citing motorsports reporter Bob Pockrass, Wallace shared that IndyCar had sold 231,000 seats. “231,000 people. Sold out. It means there are no more seats left,” Wallace exclaimed.
He followed that up by quoting Team Penske owner Roger Penske, who said another 91,000 infield tickets were sold. Wallace summed it up like this: “Roger Penske said that 231,000 seats were sold out and another 91,000 sold out in the middle of the infield, like another Super Bowl.”
That brought the expected crowd to a jaw-dropping 320,000. “That’s bats*** crazy!” Wallace said.
Then, the NASCAR vet asked the one question that was on his mind: “Where are they going to park?”
He laughed it off: “We know they park in people’s backyards, and they park all over. Still, that’s unbelievable!”