“Driver is on an island by himself”

Former NASCAR driver and outspoken commentator Kenny Wallace has once again found himself aligned with the sport’s fanbase, this time over a long-running complaint about how post-race interviews are conducted in the modern era.

For decades, the image of a NASCAR winner interview was synonymous with victory lane: a chaotic, joyous explosion and a driver surrounded by their jubilant crew. Today, that moment has been replaced by a quiet, often tense job interview on the frontstretch immediately after the checkered flag.

Kenny Wallace took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his preference for the traditional interviews in victory lane because they feature the entire member of the team.

Responding to a fan’s critique, Wallace wrote:

“Yes 💯. I like the @NASCAR Victory Lane TV interviews IN Victory Lane. Because it shows all the people involved. The driver out on the Frontstretch is on an island by himself”

The victory lane traditionally serves as the emotional center of any NASCAR race. It’s where the driver celebrates with the crew chief, pit crew, engineers, sponsors, and loved ones—all the people who played a role in securing the win. On the other hand, frontstretch interviews frequently focus solely on the driver, transforming a team’s accomplishment into an individual’s experience.

For hardcore fans, that shift has made post-race coverage feel less authentic and less emotionally engaging.

Kenny Wallace explains how some NASCAR tracks made the sport less accessible and more expensive for fans

Recently on his “Coffee with Kenny,” the former NASCAR driver criticized NASCAR and some race tracks for becoming too profit-driven and losing touch with longtime fans, especially with traditional dirt and grassroots racing supporters.

According to Kenny Wallace, by forcing fans to buy bundled, three-day ticket packages instead of allowing them to attend just the main race on Sunday, tracks made the sport less accessible and more expensive, which pushed many fans away.

On his program Kenny Wallace said:

“They got greedy. They were so big that they would say, ‘Okay, you’ve got to buy one ticket for everything—you’ve got to show up Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.’ And the dirt racing fans are like, ‘Man, we just want to show up on Sunday.’ Some of the tracks were guilty of saying, ‘No, you’ve got to buy the Truck ticket on Friday, you’ve got to buy the Xfinity ticket on Saturday, and you’ve got to buy the Cup ticket on Sunday,’ and they just priced everybody out. So I’m going to end like this.”

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series is set to kick off on February 1 with the Cook Out Clash exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium and conclude with the finale at Homestead-Miami on November 8.