Monster Energy NASCAR CUp Series
Bojangles' Southern 500
Darlington Raceway, Darlington, SC USA
Friday 1 September 2017
Aric Almirola, Richard Petty Motorsports, STP Ford Fusion
World Copyright: John K Harrelson / Harrelson Photography Inc.
Bubba Wallace almost drove the #44 for RPM
Racing News
Bubba Wallace talks about his new ride
Next year, Bubba Wallace will official become a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver.
It’s an exciting time for Bubba and the sport. But, he jumped through a few hoops to get there.
“Unveiling the car, it was actually the first time I had my name on a Cup car,” Darrell Wallace Jr told the NASCAR on NBC podcast. “So, that was pretty cool.”
Today, STP announced they would return to Richard Petty Motorsports in the 2018 season. They will be the primary sponsor for two races. STP has been apart of that team, in some form, since 1972.
“Excited to have them back as well. That’s a long time. It’s such a special unique bond that they have. We’re doing the STP 500 at Martinsville. The second race is to be determined. In years past, it’s always been the throwback race at Darlington.”
Bubba Wallace has two wins at Martinsville Speedway. He won for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2013 and again in 2014.
“I’m pretty excited about that place. Watching this past weekend, a lot of action went down. I’m ready to do this! To see if I can do it at the Cup level. You know, we had some success in the trucks.”
“I’m trying to get one more race in. Maybe, in the truck. We’re still working on maybe Homestead. It’s creepin’ away at me. I’m hoping to get back in the car.”
What does Bubba Wallace do to prepare for his new ride in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series? He can’t do much, the cuffs are on.
Simulator work is frowned upon. It’s a manufacture based system and as Bubba says, “I’m not really with a team. It raises an eyebrow.” But, he has a backup plan, “I can do iRacing at home, that’s about it. Not the real thing, no.”
When Bubba Wallace first jumped in the #43 car, Richard Petty stressed that he didn’t need to crash. “It wasn’t my car. It’s wasn’t for me to go out there and try to win my first race. I learned a lot.”
“We had one good debut year. That was K&N, we won the first race, right outta the bat. We’ve been trying to do the same thing and we’d wreck out. Granted it was at Daytona.”
“I can just wait 2 or 3 more months. Then I can actually get in it, full-time.”
Bubba Wallace almost drove the #44 at Richard Petty Motorsports
Bubba Wallace began talking with Richard Petty Motorsports around Kentucky Speedway. Darrell Wallace Jr finished 11th in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kentucky. It also ended up being his final fill-in race as Almirola was ready to get back in the car the following week.
RPM told him, “We’d like to have you in the #44 car possibly. We don’t know what’s going on with the #43, but the #44 for sure.” Bubba Wallace states, “We’ve been in the talks for a couple months now.”
“Yes. No. Yes. No. It was always kinda back and fourth. It was good to finally seal the deal.”