"This was a tough decision to make": When Rusty Wallace shut his race team to keep a promise to his family

Rusty Wallace shut down his race team more than a decade ago. The former NASCAR driver made the difficult choice to pause on‑track operations when sponsorship funding fell short.

Rusty Wallace Racing (RWR) fielded two cars in the Nationwide (Xfinity) Series, No. 62 for Michael Annett and No. 66 for his son, Steve Wallace. In January 2012, RWR announced that it would temporarily cease its on-track operations across both of its cars.

Longtime sponsor 5-Hour Energy left the team for Michael Waltrip Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, which left a major funding gap to fully fund the two‑car operation for 2012. In a team release, Wallace, who founded the team in 1984, acknowledged that the team still had partners like Pilot Flying J but that it lacked the complete budget necessary to remain competitive.

"This was a tough decision to make. But it was the prudent one from a number of perspectives. While we had several great partners. ... We just didn’t feel like we had enough sponsorship in place to accomplish all of our goals," Rusty Wallace said (via Autoweek).

Wallace explained his commitment to keeping a promise he had made to his family.

"I promised myself and my family long ago that if the team wasn’t funded to a level with which we were comfortable, we just wouldn’t run it," he added.

Annett was released from his contract to pursue rides elsewhere. However, Steve returned to the series in May of that year in a former Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang.

"I wasn't having any fun" - Rusty Wallace cited mounting stress behind the scenes.

RWR started as Rusty Wallace Inc. in the mid-1980s with Rusty in a No. 66 Oldsmobile, winning a Daytona pole and two top‑five finishes in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. In 1989, Rusty's younger brother Kenny Wallace joined the team in a No. 36 Pontiac and collected three poles, sixteen top‑tens and the series’ Rookie of the Year award that season.

The team had shut down once earlier after Kenny moved to the Cup Series but returned to competition in 2004. But in the 2010s, Rusty found himself overextended financially and said stress had overwhelmed him.

"This was just occupying too much of my brain and I've never worked so hard in my life at something that doesn't make any money. My wife and I sat down and said, 'You know what, this is stressful.' It's hard on us. I haven't made any money on anything in Nationwide since 2004. It got to the point where I wasn't having any fun and it was too stressful. It's hard on us, Rusty Wallace said (via Crash).

Rusty's son Steve did make a start in the No. 66 RWR car at Charlotte in 2013, but then closed at the end of the season.