Kenny Wallace regularly pushes his speedometer beyond 100 mph while he’s working, but his message to Martinsville High School students on Thursday was about obeying the speed limit. “I have to hold a valid driver’s license to drive in Winston Cup races,” he said, “so I can’t go out on the streets driving like Speed Racer. I tell the kids there’s a time and place for these things.” Wallace drives the #23 Stacker 2 Dodge on the Winston Cup circuit, but he seemed equally enthusiastic about taking time off from his duties as a professional driver to talk to kids about driving smartly and avoiding accidents by following traffic laws. And though his lecture was filled with humorous anecdotes and jokes, his message was a serious one: “Kids are excited to get their driver’s licenses, but there’s a lot of responsibility that goes along with driving.” Wallace’s appearance at Martinsville High was part of a new program called “Race to Bee Safe.” The program is supported by – and named after – one of Wallace’s sponsors, Y.J. Stinger , an energy drink manufactured by NVE Pharmaceuticals of Newton, NJ, that features a yellowjacket as its logo. Martinsville Police Officer Brian Lawson, the school’s resource officer, also participated in the safe driving program and gave students some statistics about car accidents. In 2002, 178 people between the ages of 16 and 20 were killed in car accidents in Virginia, he said. Of those accidents, 50% of the victims were not wearing seatbelts and 44 percent of the accidents were speed-related, he said. “You may not like getting tickets,” Lawson said. “But when you start taking money out of people’s wallets, they pay attention.” The students, most of whom indicated they planned to get their licenses within a year, said they thought the program was informative and will make them think when they drive. Lizzie Holyfield, a junior, admitted to being in a couple of minor accidents in which she backed into other cars. She said she will pay more attention when she drives and found the program to be informative. “I learned that just because you’re a NASCAR driver doesn’t mean you’re out speeding all the time,” she said. Of course, with a world-renowned Winston Cup driver on the stage, the event wasn’t limited to only talk. Wallace brought along a NASCAR-certified racing seat and coaxed a volunteer – Hope Dodson, daughter of Robert and Beth Dodson of Martinsville – onto the stage to demonstrate the seat and get a feel for how NASCAR drivers are constrained during the four-hour races. Following his talk, Wallace handed out T-shirts, signed autographs and fielded questions from the audience. When asked if he had ever been in a wreck while not racing, Wallace admitted to one accident. While driving to a wedding – in the bride’s car – he tried to pass a camper on a two-lane road, accidentally bumped it and ended up in a ditch, he said. He also answered ‘yes’ when asked if he ever had received a speeding ticket, saying he had gotten them usually when he was late for something or not paying attention to his speed. He followed by once more cautioning students to start out early enough to be on time and watch the speedometer. Another student – as concerned with racing as safety – asked Wallace to name his favorite and least favorite tracks. He said his least favorite was Atlanta, simply because he hardly ever finishes in the top 10 there. When talking about his favorites, he named several short tracks – Martinsville, Bristol, Richmond and Phoenix. “I grew up on short tracks,” he said, adding that he likes the way his car feels and runs on these tracks. So while Wallace will spend several hours in Martinsville on Sunday at speeds quite a bit higher than the 55 mph limit on most Virginia highways, he said when on those roads, it is smart to stay at the limit. “I don’t finish a race and get out on the road and floor it,” he said. “Just remember, a license is a privilege. It can be taken away at any time.”( Martinsville Bulletin )(10-18-2003)
