Catchfence

Kenny Wallace Racing Inc. and the University of Northwestern Ohio would like to announce a joint partnership for 2011 that starts with Wallace’s Modified Dirt Track Schedule and extends to the NASCAR Nationwide Series and beyond. Both sides bring a unique grassroots perspective to the racing community.

Kenny Wallace comes from a big family of racers, from his father to his two older brothers extending down to his nephew. Everyone knows his brother Rusty, from his championship runs in the Winston Cup Series, but everyone knows and absolutely loves Kenny. Kenny “The Hermanator” Wallace started as a mechanic in his older brother Rusty’s shop. Since those days he has grown to embody what a “racer” is, going on to race at the Sprint Cup and the Nationwide Series level, and co-hosting two television programs on the SPEED channel.

Despite his success and already tremendous fan following, Kenny sticks close to the roots of where he came from. Even during a full season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, if Kenny can slip away, he can usually be found getting into his modified car on a local dirt track, whether it’s in the deep south or in the polar opposite, like North Dakota. Kenny Wallace came from the shop, made it into the winner’s circle, and even covers the sport for national cable networks. He has seen it all, the ups, the downs, and everything in between. Through all of this Kenny Wallace has maintained his love for racing and his incredibly enthusiastic and engaging personality.

Who Kenny is, and where he came from, makes him a perfect partner for the University of Northwestern Ohio. Both Kenny and UNOH are doing great things to advance the sport of racing. The University of Northwestern Ohio is an entrepreneurial, not-for-profit, university founded in 1920. There are three colleges within the university: The College of Technologies, The College of Business, and The College of Distance Learning. UNOH has taught students from all 50 states and 16 foreign countries, and currently has more than 4,500 students enrolled from 36 states and 6 foreign countries.

UNOH offers more than 60 different programs of study including Master’s, Baccalaureate, Associate, and Diploma programs. The University is situated on a 200+ acre campus and is in the midst of a 10-year expansion plan that includes new apartment-style dormitories and two new academic buildings that will house Health and IT classrooms along with a new library, student learning center and food services. The University of Northwestern Ohio started the first accredited High-Performance Motorsports program in the world.

The University of Northwestern Ohio also offers a variety of athletics including Men’s & Women’s Basketball, Men’s & Women’s Tennis, Men’s & Women’s Golf, Women’s Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Bowling, Men’s Baseball and five Co-Ed Motorsports teams. It’s the motorsports athletic programs that caught Kenny Wallace’s attention and led to the initial discussions of the partnership and Kenny’s involvement with UNOH. UNOH is the first and only university that offers athletic scholarships to its motorsports teams, just like traditional collegiate sports.

As part of this new partnership, UNOH will be a sponsor for all of Kenny’s dirt track races in the 2011 season. This sponsorship will reach out and recruit potential students and supporters from the grass roots racing community, even offering full motorsports scholarships for mechanics all the way to aspiring drivers. Being able to tap into a new following of race enthusiasts is one of the things that has Kenny more excited than ever to be a part of this partnership. “Our sport needs to be kept alive with new blood,” responded Kenny when asked about the importance of grass roots racing, “And out there at those dirt tracks is where you find a lot of people with a huge love for racing.” UNOH is also stepping up and being Kenny’s primary sponsor for three of his NNS races to recruit from a more national audience.

This of course makes Kenny happy, but like most things Kenny Wallace does, his involvement with the university is far from passive. Kenny has student interns from UNOH’s motorsports program shadowing him during his NNS races, and has UNOH motorsports team members jumping onto his pit crew for UNOH’s primary races. UNOH will also have a “Kenny Wallace Day” at the university and the university owned race track, Limaland Motorsports Park. During that time, Kenny will speak with students and answer questions, sharing his years of involvement in the sport, from all different angles, with the university.

Kenny is obviously excited about this partnership with UNOH, but those who know Kenny’s humble personality aren’t surprised that his enthusiasm is for the students. “I started in the garage, and then I was a driver, beyond my family, I would have no idea what I was getting into. If I didn’t have them, I probably would still be in some garage somewhere. If I was starting out today, I only wish I had an opportunity like UNOH!”

Kenny Wallace and UNOH have some other special events planned for the 2011 season, but it’s clear that this is a partnership that will not only result in great things on the track, but also help the racing community at large off the track for years to come.

- Kenny Wallace Inc. Press Release