CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Three people have been arrested in connection with an assault on former NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Mike Wallace and his daughter after a Rascal Flatts concert Friday night in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Wallace posted a note on Facebook about the assault, which he said sent him and his adult daughter Lindsey Wallace Van Wingerden to the hospital, ESPN reported.
Rascal Flatts responded to the incident on Twitter.
He sat down with WSOC-TV on Sunday evening to share his horrifying story.
Wallace told WSOC that he was in the parking lot and said the question that prompted the attack was, “How did you like the show?”
According to Wallace, a group of people started screaming at him and then beat him up after he asked that question.
Wallace was at the show with his family and his daughter tried to help him, but she said the group then turned on her.
The 57-year-old said he suffered a concussion. His daughter was also rushed to the hospital after she tried to protect her father.
She said she can't comprehend the motives behind the fight.
“It scares us to think we can't even go to a concert together without someone going to attack you or what's going to happen next,” Wallace Van Wingerden said.
Wallace received 12 stitches and lost three teeth in the fight, but told WSOC his greater concern was for his daughter.
“I woke up. I see my daughter laying on the ground, which is devastating for a father,” he said. “I mean, that's the worst thing in the world.”
“We were told on site that CMPD at the PNC Theater, that they've dealt with this group on two or three separate occasions so far this concert season,” Wallace said. “The people this happened with are actual contractors with PNC. They're maintenance crews. Their company provides maintenance and yard landscaping services from what we're told.”
Three men were arrested in the assault, which happened at the PNC Music Pavilion: Paul Lucas, 29, Nathan Lucas, 22, of Indian Trail and Randolph Mangum, 24, of Monroe.
Nathan Lucas and Mangum were charged with misdemeanor simple assault, while Paul Lucas was charged with misdemeanor assault on a female, according to police records. All were released after posting bond and will appear in court July 22.
“The physical side is going to heal,” Wallace Van Wingerden told WSOC. “The bruises are going to heal. There's doctors gonna fix things, but now it’s the emotional parts. You see these flashbacks knowing there are people out there.”
“It's a weekend we did not plan on having,” she said. “I could think of a lot better things to be doing on Father's Day, that's for sure.”
The eldest brother of the Wallace racing family, which includes Rusty Wallace and Kenny Wallace, Mike Wallace had 197 starts in his Sprint Cup career, his last coming in the 2015 Daytona 500.
He has competed in 17 Cup races in the past 10 years. His last full NASCAR season was in 2013 when he competed in the Xfinity Series, where he has four career wins in 494 starts.