MBM Motorsports will have to find a new driver for the Daytona 500 after NASCAR has decided that Mike Wallace will not be able to compete in the Cup Series race.
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Wallace provided the initial revelation with a post on Facebook. He said that he had received a phone call from Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer. According to Wallace, Sawyer said that he was not approved to race in the Truck Series, Xfinity Series, or Cup Series in 2025. He could possibly receive approval for 2026.
"This comes as a total shock as the President of NASCAR last week in a real phone call told me all was good and he will see me in Daytona," Wallace wrote.
"I also went to CMS as required by NASCAR took the required drug test, basic physical, eye test, impact concussion test, and even allowed them to scan my mouth for the volunteer mouth piece to gather driver data and paid the $160.00 in fees..."
MBM Motorsports confirmed that Wallace would not be behind the wheel for the Daytona 500. The team issued a statement on the evening of Jan. 13 indicating that Wallace's recent inactivity was the reason for the denial.
NEWS: MBM Motorsports can confirm that NASCAR has deemed Mike Wallace is not eligible to compete in the 2025 Daytona 500, despite eleven previous 500 starts and several superspeedway wins, due to lack of recent races in major professional motorsports. We are devastated for Mike… pic.twitter.com/AsV9fscgq0
— MBM Motorsports (@MBMMotorsports) January 14, 2025
MBM Motorsports added that it was trying to find a funded driver for Speedweeks so that it could still attempt the 67th Running of the Daytona 500.
Wallace made 197 Cup starts, 497 Xfinity starts (four wins), and 115 Truck Series wins (five wins). He won a Truck race and an Xfinity race at Daytona. However, he has not made a Cup start since 2015. His last Xfinity start was in 2020.
A NASCAR spokesperson told multiple media members that the denial was due to inactivity and the fact that Wallace hasn't competed on an intermediate track since 2015. The spokesperson said that the request was for the Daytona 500 and that the two sides hadn't discussed Xfinity or Trucks.
MBM Motorsports has made sporadic starts in the Cup Series, including four races at Daytona. The team last competed in the Daytona 500 in 2020. It last competed in the Daytona summer race in 2021. MBM Motorsports also failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 in 2022 and '23.
