NASCAR’s Mike Wallace Brutally Beaten At Rascal Flatts Concert

This story has been updated (see below).
NASCAR driver Mike Wallace, the brother of Rusty Wallace and Kenny Wallace, was brutally beaten at a Rascal Flatts concert Friday night (6-17) at Charlotte’s PNC Music Pavilion. The three men also assaulted Mike Wallace’s daughter, Lindsey Wallace Van Wingerden, as she tried to shield her father during the attack.
22-year-old Nathan Lucas, and 24-year-old Randolph Mangum were arrested by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Department on simple battery charges, and each was released on $1,000 bond. 29-year-old Paul Lucas was charged with assault on a female.
Kenny Wallace tells USA Today that Mike was talking to one of the men when “out of nowhere, one came at Mike like a crazy man.” Mike was reportedly knocked unconscious during the fight, but the three men continued to assault him, kicking him in the face. That is when the daughter Lindsey Wallace Van Wingerden tried to stop the assault, but the attack continued.
Mike Wallace is said to have lost a tooth in the assault, and required 12 stitches inside his mouth. His daughter’s injuries were minor. Both were taken to a local hospital and released.
“I normally would not post personal affairs but this is to help and give advice to our friends, do not ever talk to a group of now what appeared to be drunk or drugged up young adult men or women when you’re trying to get in your car to leave the un guarded PNC amphitheater in Charlotte, NC parking lot after a good Rascal Flatts concert,” said Mike Wallace in a statement. “This is what I looked like after I was knocked out and crap beat out of me. The ambulance driver took this picture we were just supposed to have a fun night. I want to thank my family and friends for helping to protect me from a worse beating as I [laid] unconscious on the ground.”
The three men charged in the assault are scheduled to appear in court on July 22nd.
READ: Assault on Police Officer at Bayou Country Superfest Caught on Tape
UPDATE: Mike Wallace talked to WSOC about the incident. He said it started when he heard someone yelling obscenities, from a nearby vehicle.
June 20, 2016 @ 7:30 am
And yes folks, we know Rascal Flatts had nothing to do with this. But it looks like we could be heading into a summer just as bad, if not worse than 2014 when assaults, arrests, rapes, and even death were the news of the day at mainstream country concerts.
March 5, 2021 @ 2:13 am
This is why we have a 2nd Ammendment. If it’s getting this bad, and people are committing violent crimes for no earthly reason, just shoot their legs. Make sure these people can’t walk ever again to hurt another person. Just blow knee caps all to bits…and confine them to wheelchairs and dependency on other people for their support. A prison sentence is not enough punishment for a violent, belligerent person that really belongs in a lifelong mental institution. If you’re this much of a threat to society, you don’t need to live in society. A Rascal Flatts concert with good, country people? Never.
May 4, 2021 @ 12:44 pm
Dumbest comment ever..did not sound any better coming out of your mouth than President Potato’s!
May 1, 2022 @ 9:46 pm
Not so fast, he was with his child. Duty calls. Protect family mission engaged. I would have shot all three of them. Drunk or not. That’s the way it is. A fathers right to protect the fam shall not be infringed upon. Legally, by the 2Amen. C’mon, three on one? They could have killed him with the beating he took. Then what? A little girl is broken forever by not understanding why her daddy was murdered right in front of her….I disagree with the non-chalant premise.
And in the election, I would vote the candidate that would help equip men and women to have the best protection. Some parties today cannot be trusted with common sense. Trump 2024
August 26, 2021 @ 3:59 pm
Publicly hold court and all the punishments so perpetrators can see, and also hear what punishments await them… hell yeah!
June 20, 2016 @ 7:33 am
This is absolutely awful to hear. Get better soon Mike and Lindsey!
June 20, 2016 @ 8:01 am
I’m curious what he said to them. Not defending these morons at all, I think my previous posts on this site have shown I have zero sympathy for the lowest common denominator of society that mainstream Country music has appealed to for years now and the image of drinking without regret or consequences that mainstream Country music loves to illicit now, but I’m curious if the victims mouthed off at all before things escalated.
Not trying to blame the victims at all, there is no excuse for this kind of pathetic behavior in modern society, but if you recognize a group of people are incredibly drunk or “drugged up” as Wallace is quoted as saying, it would be interesting to learn what exact words were exchanged. I mean, Wallace is quoted as saying “talked to”, but that can mean a bunch of different things.
June 20, 2016 @ 8:20 am
Here he is talking about it.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/ct-mike-wallace-rascal-flatts-concert-assault-20160620-story.html
June 20, 2016 @ 9:02 am
I stopped reading the article when I read that one of that attackers owned a landscaping company. Probably confirmation bias on my end, but everyone I know that has worked with or for tree and landscaping companies in the area I live in has had nothing good to say about the owners or workers at this companies. The area that I am from has been ruined by Meth and Black Tar Heroin, and surprise, surprise, a lot of the junkies can only find work doing landscaping/tree service work due to their rap sheets and addictions. There are probably a lot of decent, upstanding guys in the field, but I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that these guys had addictions or rap sheets attached to them. At least Wallace isn’t another Bryon Stow who ended up almost brain dead a few years ago because he was a SF Giants fan or dared to walk outside of Dodger Stadium with his gear on and got jumped.
June 20, 2016 @ 1:23 pm
I work for a landscape company as a day laborer, to make ends meet when I’m not on the road as a touring musician. My boss and fellow workers are hard working, intelligent people who just need another source of income. Trigger does a good job here of spreading unbiased information and commentary. Try not to spread ignorance.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:02 pm
Eh, I noted it was just in my area where I had this experience. I certainly don’t think ALL landscape workers/companies are shady. Just in my neck of the woods, where there is about 1-2 good companies and a bunch of fly-by-night, super sketchy operations.
June 22, 2016 @ 11:50 am
Update on the landscaping connection. The Lucas arrested is the son of the owner of Lucas Landscaping. A company truck was spotted at the parking lot.
The owner of the company is lamenting that social media has turned on him and his company, and are encouraging people to cease doing business with him. Yet, he offers no apologies for an employee’s (his son) despicable behavior, or that his company was unfortunately connected to the heinous crime. No mention of action being taken regarding employees (his son) who brought disgrace to the company. He only complained that he was being mistreated, but took no stand against his sorry ass son’s actions.
February 13, 2021 @ 9:12 pm
Mike wallace was pretty much brain dead before they attacked him.
Hes always been a loud mouth prick and I guarwntee he run his mouth to these guys and got what he had coming to him.
I’m not a Dale Earnhardt Sr fan but when he was killed at Daytona they asked Mike what he thought and all he could say he gone let’s get back to racing. Mike didn’t like Dale and ran his mouth about Dale many times after Dale beat him in many races.hes a crybaby and he deserved what he got and put his daughter in harms way.im dead sure as she knows what her bone head dad said to those guys.
They were probably talking about the daughter saying she was hot and other nasty stuff and moron Mike tried to stop them and got his face kicked in.couldnt happen to a better recipient in my mind.
Hes a big mouth moron and got his daughter hurt.everyone knows you don’t run yourouth to people at an event that’s possibly had alcohol or drugs .you keep walking and ignore them unless your looking to get jumped and beat down.
Hopefully this beating changed the idiots ways but I truly doubt it.ya have to have half a brain to be able to do that and hes definitely doesn’t.
Kenny wallace is definitely the good wallace brother. Rusty was a crybaby and still is.
Live and learn morons
March 5, 2021 @ 2:23 am
What a big man….a 29 year old “moron” assaulting a female. “Oh, he put his daughter in harm’s way” As if a young woman couldn’t attend a Rascal Flatts concert with her father. People have gone insane. And by the looks of your comments, it appears you have as well. Grow up you little prick! You need some big woman to kick your head in a few times! Your Mama probably didn’t do it enough and that’s what’s wrong with you! You think it’s okay to be assaulting people for no good reason. I just want to jerk everyone of you good for nothing, sorry excuses for decent men up and beat the everloving crap out of you. Grow up!
April 7, 2021 @ 7:57 am
How about Rusty’s son, he is not an angel.
April 7, 2021 @ 8:19 am
Didn’t realize Mike was ever really considered a threat to his competitors, especially Dale Sr.
June 20, 2016 @ 9:32 am
Even if Mike had said something flippant to them (which according to him, he didn’t), I still don’t see how that justifies getting kicked in the face while your laying on the ground unconscious, or assaulting a female (and I know that now what you’re implying specifically). Politics and media these days have everyone so full of narcissistic rage, they feel like violence against others is completely justified. The police didn’t arrest Wallace. They interviewed the witnesses, and they arrested the three perpetrators. They will get their due process, and if the assault was provoked, that will be considered. It sounds to me like a fight was already about to erupt, and they thought fighting a random bystander was better than fighting each other.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:40 am
Politics and media these days have everyone so full of narcissistic rage
I experienced a little of this Saturday, although it was not violent. And from what appeared to be Jason Isbell fans! My wife and I saw the Stapleton/Isbell show at Merriweather Post Pavilion in MD on Saturday. There was a couple that arrived just after Isbell’s set started. They went to about the center of the row in front of us and stood for just about every song, but especially the slow, acoustic ones! Hugging and swaying along as they sang. They were the only people standing in our about 40 row section. Our row was mostly empty (Stapleton only fans not there yet, apparently), so no one was directly behind them, although every once in a while, someone would yell out down in front. As more people arrived, they got pushed out of their seats (they weren’t in their ticketed seats, apparently) and they got pushed closer to us, until they were directly in front of us. Once again, they got up and stood for a slow song. Only people standing in the section. When my wife and I asked them to sit, the dude said “America, love it or leave it.” I showed him that they were the only ones standing. No matter. They refused to sit. After some “words”, we moved to some empty seats in the row. Many in the section gave them grief and a staff member tried to politely get them to sit. Nope. They would rather “stand up for their rights” (and fuck everybody else) and argue, missing the songs being played in the process. And these were Isbell fans who seemed to know all of the words. Eventually, they got escorted to different empty seats (closer ones!) and sat for the remaining couple of songs. Lucky for us, they appeared to be Isbell only fans and weren’t there for Stapleton’s set.
June 20, 2016 @ 11:01 am
I saw better manners at the Wheeler Walker Jr. show last night. 🙂 I’m also supremely jealous you got to go to that show.
I think people have become so self-centered through politics, and through Facebook specifically which only feeds them the news they want to see, they think anyone who might disagree with them is part of the problem, and must be stood up to.
June 20, 2016 @ 11:42 am
Isbell and the 400 Unit were excellent as always. They were co-headliners, so they played a good 90 minute set. They got an extended standing ovation after Cover Me Up, to the point where had to interrupt to start the next song. Less DBT songs than usual, probably because of the shorter set, or maybe also because he now has TWO largely successful albums. He did do Codeine from Here We Rest, which was really nice. Nice interplay with Amanda Shires on fiddle and Derry deBorja on accordion.
Stapleton was very good. Any empty seats during the Isbell set (not that there were all that many) were filled for Stapleton. The crowd singalongs for songs like Nobody to Blame and Fire Away were pretty intense. He and his wife did their version of You Are My Sunshine from Southern Family, which was a real treat. Also welcome were swampy blues rock versions of his Steeldrivers songs Midnight Train to Memphis and Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey. The man is resonating.
June 20, 2016 @ 4:54 pm
That show was awesome. It was packed, venue reported many more than anticipated. Massive crowd, singing every word during the Stapleton set. Stapleton was very impressive live. Enjoyed him much more live than on the album. Also, had a big ass sound from a 3 piece band. His bass player is very good. Interesting crowd: old, young, dudes wearing pink polos, dudes wearing confederate flag boots, at least one member of the Baltimore Orioles. I found the crowd pretty mellow. Gotta sit in the lawn with the proletariat next time and enjoy the absolutely gorgeous night!
June 20, 2016 @ 4:57 pm
Also I can’t believe Isbell didn’t play Outfit! On Father’s Day eve, no less!
June 20, 2016 @ 6:53 pm
I agree on Outfit, Big A. That was the only real disappointment I had with Isbell’s song (well, that and no Goddamn Lonely Love). It’s always great to hear Outfit live and that’s a big one for the singalong, too. And yes, it was Father’s Day eve and ould have been perfect.
I agree that the crowd was mellow in the behavior department. I felt like I was among my music peeps, just in a much bigger venue than is typical for me. I just got unlucky.
I like Merriweather. It’s onIy my second time there (saw Ben Harper there several years ago) and in general, I like the vibe there. I prefer it to Jiffy Lube Live (formerly Nissan Pavilion), which is a similar type and size venue in NoVA, is in my home county and a lot closer. But parking is a bitch and the place just feels a bit sterile.
Another good one coming up at Merriweather is Brandi Carlile and Old Crow Medicine Show in late July, I think.
June 20, 2016 @ 6:54 pm
That is, Isbell’s set, not song.
February 13, 2021 @ 9:02 pm
Serves him right and im damn well sure he ran his mouth to these idiots because he’s known for running his mouth.dale Earnhardt Sr was killed at Daytona and a reporter asked him for his thoughts and all he could say was let’s get back to racing he’s gone nothing we can do about it now.mike wallace is and always will be a jack**s so I’m sure this was karma for this idiot. I’ve heard him running his big mouth many times after races that didn’t go like he wanted and alot of times it was Earnhardt that won and beat him.
He was a loser in Nascar and he’s a loser in life.got what he had coming .I hate his daughter was hurt trying to stop his needed beating .I’m glad they didn’t kill him he needed to wake and feel the pain and hopefully the idiot learned something .
What a loud mouth idiot.
April 7, 2021 @ 8:09 am
Didn’t know Mike would have ever been considered a challenger to anyone in Nascar, especially Dale Sr.
September 19, 2021 @ 12:23 pm
Ok so if you run your mouth to me in a parking lot I get to assault your daughter. Noted.
June 20, 2016 @ 8:55 am
The world has no use for people like these three punks. I hope they get what’s coming to them, or worse.
June 20, 2016 @ 9:47 am
I’m not really surprised at this given the general lack of regard for human life and respect for the well-being of others that’s becoming so common these days, which is often exacerbated by the liberal application of alcohol and chemical.
But for some reason I would expect dirtbags outside a Rascal Flatts concert to attack someone with stuffed unicorns.
June 20, 2016 @ 11:24 am
But for some reason I would expect dirtbags outside a Rascal Flatts concert to attack someone with stuffed unicorns.
I had some thoughts along those lines. I mean, I just don’t think of their music as being the soundtrack for the testosterone overloaded set. But I guess for some, any pop country concert is as good as another for partying to excess what all comes all with that.
June 20, 2016 @ 12:53 pm
I thought the same thing. I thought Rascal Flatts music was Mom music. I would expect this at FGL or Brantley Gilbert.
June 20, 2016 @ 10:25 am
What a crazy story. It sounds like something out of a Charles Bronson movie (Death Wish 3, to be exact).
It is getting to where I pretty much avoid any events with large crowds, but honestly, it could happen anywhere.
Also, bond was set way too low for an attack that resulted in those types of injuries!
June 20, 2016 @ 10:32 am
“What hurts the most…”
Sorry. I just had to.
February 13, 2021 @ 9:20 pm
No worries Mike wallace has always been a mouthy prick.he had it coming.you only get away with running your mouth before sonwones.going to take you up on a fight.he ran his mouth whether he wants to admit or not.
They were probably talking trash to his daughter and tough guy mikie thought he was going to stop them.
Hes an idiot .anyone with brains doesn’t confront idiots like that anywhere because there running there mouth about anything. Keep walking and let it go. Nope mikie can’t stand to be outdone so he got what he had coming.hes a moron and always will be and I guarentee people who really know him new he would get it one day.
Smash bang boom and hes out cold.
Dorks can’t fight.
September 19, 2021 @ 12:28 pm
Yes. Apes in the zoo also settle their disagreements with violence. They also fling their poo. Racial flats is kind of a stretch to watch a bunch of dumb dirty tweakers attack humans in a parking lot. They were probably just upset over something they saw on tv that they are not personally involved in lol
June 20, 2016 @ 1:48 pm
Can’t say I’m surprised to hear that this happened in Charlotte…
June 20, 2016 @ 2:13 pm
Sad stuff. Most injuries at Rascal Flatts shows come from people trying to stab out their own eardrums but this is something else.
June 20, 2016 @ 2:18 pm
LOL !!!
August 31, 2022 @ 8:24 pm
There is no excuse for what happened. None. Especially when they hurt his daughter too. Anyone who defends theses criminals should be ashamed.
June 20, 2016 @ 6:23 pm
This made my day
June 20, 2016 @ 2:23 pm
A few years ago, my wife and I were in Charlotte for the Coca Cola 600 and could only get a room downtown, in the middle of the Speedstreet melee.
What a disaster – a couple hundred thousand highly intoxicated Gen X’ers.
My wife and I ran across some unsavory sorts in a hotel parking garage late at night (they didn’t look like they were staying there (they were teenagers), but instead, kind of checking out cars in the garage) while we were unloading our car to go to our room.
I conspicuously kept my right hand jammed down my front pocket and glared at them, so they wisely gave us plenty of room to get by.
I’m sorry for Mike Wallace and his daughter.
June 20, 2016 @ 5:26 pm
Do you think it could be NASCAR induced and only has drunk at a concert as the trigger, Trigger?
June 21, 2016 @ 1:04 pm
I think you have a point there.
June 20, 2016 @ 5:58 pm
Christ, I cannot stand reporting like this. And it’s so fucking common.
First:
‘This is according to Mike’s brother Kenny, who was not present during the incident, but spoke to others who were when the assault occurred.’
A few grafs later:
‘Kenny Wallace tells USA Today that Mike was talking to one of the men when “out of nowhere, one came at Mike like a crazy man.”’
WTF? Do they have no editors?
June 20, 2016 @ 7:25 pm
LT,
First off, when you are reporting on developing stories like this, information is going to get stacked on top of other information, and it’s not always going to be pretty. After I posted this story, more information came out about it, and then more information. That is why it says “This story has been updated” at the top. Possibly one of the reasons it is “so fucking common” is because you’re trained not to retract information, but add to it. Fundamentally changing the story can add to even more confusion than redundant content.
But to answer your question, no, Saving Country Music does not have an editor. Why? Because there is absolutely positively no money in independent music journalism. I don’t even have the money to pay myself, let alone pay $35,000/yr. for an editor, plus health insurance, plus matching FICA, plus vacation/sick/overtime pay. Oh, and that editor better be on call 24 hours for breaking news stories just like this one and be able to do their job immediately all the times like I am tasked to do. Look around, 80% of the music sites like Saving Country Music have ceased operations in the last two years. There’s no money. And the few that are still around are so bogged down with video streaming ads embedded right into the middle of articles that pop out as your trying to read, and were bought out by massive corporations like Townsquare Media.
I always appreciate feedback from my readers, and if you think there is an editing flub or something that needs to be fix, by all means please reach out, preferably via email, and make that suggestion. But if you’re waiting for an editor to show up, you’re going to be waiting forever. I’ve had scores of people volunteer to be editors. You send them an article, and 15 hours later they get back with you to tell you they’re too busy to look at it. That is unacceptable in today’s news environment, and for stories like this. Music blogs are a dying medium, and the only reason Saving Country Music has been able to survive is by staying fiercely independent, and keeping costs so low it can remain operational on paltry revenue.
I agree Saving Country Music needs an editor. If you can find one willing to work for free and be on call 24/7, please send them my way.
June 21, 2016 @ 2:42 am
WTF? K, I would never have written that comment if I thought it was your reporting. I thought that was a linked news story. Maybe a mixup because of how it looked on FaceBook?
So sorry, man. I’m a dick – but I’m not that big a dick! Please feel free to delete my comment.
March 24, 2021 @ 6:20 pm
When faced with a bunch of sketchy cretins, RUN. Yes your pride will be hurt, but your head will still be ok. You can still eat normal and walk normal. Only a fool fights in an uncontrolled situation.
June 20, 2016 @ 6:32 pm
Put these guys away for attempted murder. There used to be honor in an honest fight. These guys are white trash thugs. They’re probably bragging about what they did when none of them could ever win a fair one on one fight. Let them go to prison and see what a real tough guy is.
June 23, 2016 @ 6:58 am
I just want to know why all these grown men are at a Rascal Flatts concert
June 23, 2016 @ 7:19 am
They bought a Country Summer Super Mega Miller/Coors Party Chill Passport for $86.99 if they got it before April 7th and it allowed them general seating at eight concerts this summer…. Already planned on Chesney, FGL, Time McGraw, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, and Brantly Gilbert. Had to pick one more, but community service starts on August 19th, so had to pick something before that. Rascall Fats was the only one left….
June 23, 2016 @ 9:21 am
I remember two years back we saw a rape incident at a Keith Urban concert and people were saying the same thing. These megaticket packages and season passes make sure the crowds show up no matter who is playing. They’re just there for the party, or to fight whomever they think they can. The word is this crew has been involved in multiple other incidents like this at that same venue. They come there to fight, and as long as they keep getting slapped on the wrist and $1,000 bails, my guess is they won’t stop aside from being publicly shamed.
June 23, 2016 @ 10:30 am
Getting arrested an beating up a semi-famous person is probably a badge of honor to people like that.
September 19, 2021 @ 12:31 pm
Omg haha I love your name!
June 30, 2016 @ 10:53 pm
Everyone should have gotten their asses kicked for going to a Rascal Flatts concert. Shit Sucks!
November 25, 2021 @ 3:10 pm
This is 2021,and the future off Country music is talented,telegenic cowboys and cowgirls recording GREAT music,not drunken Bubbas brawling circa 1953 ,when I was born.
August 28, 2022 @ 9:57 pm
This is no worse than what Rascal Flatts did to Country Music!