By Mark Long

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ A little brotherly love almost cost Mike Wallace a spot in the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

Wallace took a hard hit in Friday's truck series race and was resting in his motor home when younger brother Kenny stopped by to check on him. Not convinced all was right with his brother, Kenny Wallace asked a doctor in the Daytona care centre to check him for a concussion.

Mike Wallace received a clean bill of health, but the evaluation was noted on his chart. That raised a red flag with NASCAR, which pulled him out of his car before Saturday's final practice and ordered him back to the care centre for a third examination.

This time, Mike Wallace was told he wasn't cleared to race.

``I was trying to be respectful, but I got really mad at the doctor,'' Mike Wallace said before the race. ``I told him there was nothing wrong with me, this was all just a misunderstanding. I also told him this was the Daytona 500, the way I make my living, and I planned to be in the car.''

Wallace persuaded NASCAR to send him to Halifax Medical Center for a CAT scan, and he was finally cleared to race when the results came back negative.