After four years of toiling over his cars after wrecks and blown engines, Braxton Wallace finally experienced the fruit of his labor. On Tuesday, he finally won an IMCA sport compact feature, with his first victory coming at Stuart International Speedway in Iowa.
“I wrecked my Nissan 200SX last week and had to rebuild the right front of the car,” Wallace, 24, of Hamlin, Iowa, said. “I don’t race Stuart International Speedway that often. I just wanted to finish the race on Tuesday. I didn’t even realize I had quite a lead over the locals at the finish.”
Wallace made it just in time to race after finishing his job as a bridge builder. What made his win even sweeter was his father, Jason; brother, Damon; and fiancée, Tori Woods; were also in attendance.
Incidentally, the Nissan Wallace drove to victory lane actually serves as his backup car. He saves a Chevrolet Cavalier for where he races regularly, at Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Iowa.
“My wrecks in the first three years of my racing actually helped my program,” said Wallace. “Not only did I have to build a car in a week last season, but I learned to invest in safety equipment. I spent more on safety then I did on my cars.”
Wallace sits in a Kirkey full-containment seat, with a RaceQuip Platinum Series five-point harness. He wears a Zamp Racing RZ-56 helmet with Zamp Racing Z-Tech head-and-neck restraint.
“The safety equipment makes me feel more comfortable while racing,” Wallace said. “I’m driving a lot harder than I used to because I feel safe and comfortable.”
Braxton Wallace said he intends to continue racing in the IMCA sport compact class after winning his first race and achieving another first.
“Last year, our first son, Brantley, arrived,” said Wallace. “The sport compact division allows me to raise and support a family and still have fun racing.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
