A "bucket list" is a collection of experiences, goals, or achievements someone wants to accomplish in their lifetime before they "kick the bucket". Owning a Ferrari is on many lists, achieving that goal was the dream of Michael Wallace. Well done sir!

     I’m also a fan of the bucket list. Not necessarily about creating my own – but I’m fairly curious about what other people put on theirs.

     Now you might think that the subject of my ‘other’ article in this issue would be more appropriate for a Bucket List titled article. But remember, that’ll probably be the ONLY time I attend a Formula One event, much less spend two weeks in Italy.

     Yes, I know – items on a bucket list get checked off.

     A little backstory is in order here.

     Several years ago, I got an e-mail from a subscriber, with his change of address. 

     I’m also a fan of serendipity, defined as the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

     Said subscriber was moving from Daphne, Alabama, to Auburn, Alabama. 

     WOW! I live in Auburn, Alabama! Population about 80,000, swelling to over 100,000 on game day. And you KNOW how we Roushes love some Auburn football. Auburn football fans are among the most loyal and optimistic fan bases out there. But I digress.

     Not only did the subscriber, Dr. Michael Wallace, and his family, move to Auburn, but they moved into the same neighborhood I lived in! Our houses were separated by less than a mile.

     So of course, I took the liberty of introducing myself and a friendship blossomed over the several years we were neighbors. We have a lot in common. 

     We met on Halloween the first year when he and his wife brought their daughter trick-or-treating. He mentioned he was thinking about what model Ferrari to buy – considering a 360, a silver one that Ferrari of Atlanta had been offering, with a sunroof. 

     This car had been featured in an FML article in 2023 by Jim Weed because it was optioned with the rare sunroof. I suggested with their growing family, perhaps an FF or GTC4Lusso would be more appropriate.

    This September Dr. Wallace took delivery of his brand new 296 GTB from Ferrari of Atlanta. Michael regaled me with the process of designing his Ferrari. He had two builds in mind – the main difference being which color interior to go with.

     His car is Rosso Corsa with Terra Bruciata interior. Power Daytona-style seats with red stitching, including Cavallinos on headrests. Carbon fiber steering wheel + LEDs, Apple CarPlay, AFS lighting system, front lift, Scuderia shields, parking sensors.

     He knew he wanted a ‘darker’ tan than beige. Cioccolato was the second choice. 

     Really a beautiful color combination that perfectly syncs with my assertion that all Ferraris should be red.

     Michael has been a Ferrari fan since his teens, visiting Ferrari of Atlanta and meeting Craig Forbes who let him sit in a new 360. Being only fifteen he couldn’t take the car for a test drive. Michael has preserved Craig’s old business card (Craig is now general manager). 

     This affection might stem from Ferrari ownership of two colleagues of his mother, both in the medical field outside of Gadsden, Alabama, in Rainbow City. One owned a silver 308 GTS and the other an F355 Spider, red with tan interior. I was able to search the database and come up with the chassis number of the 308.

     His family also nurtured his Ferrari dream. Before a family cruise out of Barcelona in the summer of 2005 he convinced his grandmother they should make a detour to Fiorano. 

     In fact, he told me that after just four dates with his (now) wife Maridith, the subject came up that one day he would own a Ferrari, and if she wasn’t on board with that – well, the relationship would go no further. 

     Now they have two daughters, and Michael is keen the girls should grow up loving or at least knowing the ABCs of Ferrari. 

     He himself is a study of the marque; he still has a couple dog-eared Car and Driver magazines from 2003, one featuring articles on the most wanted supercars, including a test drive of Bob Rapp’s yellow Enzo. No surprise the Enzo is a teenage boy’s dream car!

     He recently read Richard Williams book “Enzo Ferrari: a life”. Next up is a copy of Jess Pourret’s “The Ferrari Legend”. 

     He has written the cleverest book for the young girls. A is for Alfa Romeo, B is for Baracca, C is for Colombo. You get the picture. 

     I told you he was a study – my mind went to Agnelli, Barchetta, Chinetti.

     He is also a print subscriber and once shared with me the cutest photo of his oldest daughter reading a copy of the FML – albeit upside down. Still working on her ABCs.

     The day Michael took delivery of his car and drove it from Roswell, GA, to Auburn, the weather wasn’t perfect. But you see, he understands that he could be caught in bad weather sometimes when he is out driving the car. I am sorry he never got to meet my Dad; who would have said, Michael – the minute you drove that car away from Ferrari of Atlanta, it became a used car. 

     Ferrari ownership hasn’t changed the humble Michael Wallace. His nearest neighbors don’t know to this day that there is something special in the garage next door, which is accessible only from the back of the house. He’s never driven the car to his office.

     In conversation he said his main goal towards the purchase of a Ferrari is to one day get the 296 on a track, even aspiring to an entry level Corso Pilota driving program at COTA. When he has the time … the family’s immediate vacation plans include a mouse and princesses. 

     The day he took me for a drive (well over two-hour drive) he was still in the ‘breaking it in’ phase. 

     He still owns his first car – a 350 Z with over 170,000 miles on it! So he knows a thing or two about keeping a car and driving it.

     We were having such a good time (obviously) and talking that I never once thought “now here’s something the folks around Auburn don’t see very often”.

     But they better get used to it. He doesn’t intend the 296 GTB to be his last Ferrari.