Life in the fast lane
Cup Series rookie Wallace adjusting to busy schedule
DOVER, Del. — Darrell Wallace Jr. was a budding photographer his first few years as a NASCAR driver, snapping away with his Canon 60D to show an insider’s view of racing.
The hobby is on hold. These days, Wallace fills his social media feeds with photos taken with his mobile phone because the lens cap is back on the fancy camera.
“I just don’t have time for it now,” Wallace said. “This Cup schedule, it takes all your time away.”
Wallace’s career has come into focus this year as he runs a full Cup Series schedule for the first time, and he finds himself on the other side of the camera as one of the sport’s media darlings. The 24-year-old better known by his nickname, “Bubba,” has given Richard Petty Motorsports a needed dose of enthusiasm and plenty of optimism with the kind of results that show better days may be ahead for the famed No. 43 car.
“He can be as good as anybody,” Petty said.
That’s high praise coming from a Hall of Fame driver who is a seven-time season champion and was at NASCAR’s first race.
Wallace would at least like to be better than 22nd in the standings when the season comes to a close. But making it to NASCAR’s top circuit and having the security of a ride is a victory itself after a career full of fits and starts through the developmental ranks. Wallace made his debut on the second-tier Xfinity Series in 2012. He made his first four Cup Series starts last year for RPM as a fill-in when Aric Almirola was injured.
“You hear so much about him, you’d think he’s been here forever,” Petty said.
Wallace has maximized his exposure through his nearly 173,000 Twitter followers, a Facebook Watch documentary series and the natural attention that comes from being one of the few black drivers in NASCAR history. He already has the best finish for a black driver in the Daytona 500 — he was second in the February season opener — but hasn’t been distracted by the added scrutiny that comes along with his slice of history.
“I’ve enjoyed it, from on-track stuff to off-track stuff, getting a lot more attention and kind of growing your brand,” said Wallace, who knows winning can change his career.
He flirted with contention in a few races, leading six laps last month at Bristol Motor Speedway and five last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, but he failed to build those runs at the top into a top-10 result.
He will start 26th in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Dover, with his poor qualifying position a rare misstep at a track where he has had great results in other series. Wallace earned two pole positions and finished second in six races at Dover in the Xfinity Series.
He was still a hit at the track Friday, signing for a steady stream of autograph seekers and posing for photos with fans.
RPM and Wallace are on a bit of a learning curve, not just with each other, but with an organization that underwent an overhaul that included a switch to Chevrolet and a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing.
“He’s making rookie mistakes, and we’re making mistakes because we don’t know him that good, either,” Petty said. “If we get all the mistakes behind us, we’re going to be in good shape. He’s learning.”
Wallace is one of many current young drivers with significant potential still looking for a breakthrough win, and he knows it won’t come easy.
“It’s a challenge,” Wallace said. “Once you get to this level, you have to be the aggressive one.”
Larson on pole
Kyle Larson has had a good week with some nice drives.
Larson enjoyed playing in a pro-am tournament with PGA Tour golfer Russell Henley on Wednesday in North Carolina, then turned a lap of 158.103 mph Friday at Dover to win the pole for Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism. It’s the fifth pole of his career and offered a needed boost to Chevrolet, which hasn’t won a pole since Alex Bowman took the top spot at the Daytona 500.
“Our team hasn’t once been stressed out about the new Camaro,” Larson said. “I don’t know what other people and teams are battling. I think balance-wise, I feel exactly the same as what I did last year. It hasn’t been an issue to us. I feel like speed-wise, we are close to where we were.”
Also on the front row is Kevin Harvick in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford as he goes for his fourth win this season. Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. completed the top five in Friday’s qualifying.
Jimmie Johnson, who has a track-record 11 victories at Dover, will start 19th as he tries to end a winless slump that extends to last year’s spring race at Dover.
Sauter repeats
Johnny Sauter led 137 laps Friday evening and pulled away on an overtime restart to win the Camping World Truck Series race at Dover for the second straight year.
Sauter narrowly split two spinning trucks with 20 laps to go and briefly lost the lead on the final regulation restart to 19-year-old Noah Gragson. But the two collided while battling for the lead with two laps remaining, and Gragson hit the wall.
Sauter and Matt Crafton — the 2016 race’s winner — were on the front row for the restart in overtime, and Sauter cruised to the victory. Justin Haley, David Gilliland and Harrison Burton completed the top five.
Gragson, who started on the pole and led throughout the first stage, finished 20th.