Kenny Wallace reacts with somber response as a Tony Stewart clip shares emotional moment with Mike Wallace

Kenny Wallace reacted to Tony Stewart's mention of Mike Wallace's tragic story, which put his life's problems in perspective. In an old clip posted on X, Stewart shared the story about when Mike talked about accidentally killing his two-year-old son in 1984 and explained the conversation that changed his life.

Mike's younger brother and former NASCAR driver, Kenny, replied to the video with two emojis:

"😔❤️"

Rusty, Mike, and Kenny grew up around the track in Missouri under their father, Russ Wallace. Rusty won the 1989 Winston Cup title and 55 Cup races, while his younger brothers, Mike and Kenny, ran multiple races in the series without any wins.

Mike Wallace enjoyed a long and varied NASCAR career across the three national series. He made 197 Cup starts and collected 14 top-10 finishes. He earned four wins in the Xfinity Series and five in the Truck Series. Kenny, similarly, ran a long career with over 800 starts in the series but could not match the championship heights of their eldest brother Rusty.

Tony Stewart "never forgot that conversation" with Mike Wallace in 2004

In July 2004, Tony Stewart felt frustrated and low in his career. He was battling anger issues and a reputation as NASCAR's "bad boy." Fans booed him at races, and the media chased every outburst. Stewart had shoved a photographer after the Brickyard 400 in 2002, which cost him a $50,000 fine, and he was also ordered to attend anger management counseling after multiple other incidents on track.

But the NASCAR legend had a conversation with Mike Wallace before the two became friends, which helped him put his problems in perspective. Mike asked Stewart to talk at his motorhome and mentioned the accident when he backed his car over his first son in the family driveway. Michael Samuel "Mikie" Wallace Jr. died from the injuries.

Stewart later recalled the conversation during an interview and said:

"Mike Wallace came to me one day and I didn't know Mike. ... He came over to my motor home and he goes, 'Hey can I talk to you?' "He told me a story about his first son and he was backing out of his driveway and backed over his son and killed his son and he goes, 'I don't know what's bothering you. ... I know something's bothering you. ... Whatever it is, it's not that bad.' And I've never forgot that conversation."

The next year, in 2005, Stewart, who drove for Joe Gibbs Racing, collected his second NASCAR Cup championship. He was able to change his reputation and later won another title, driving for his team, Stewart-Haas Racing, in 2011.

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Edited by Hitesh Nigam