By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
For the first time, Darrell Wallace Jr. knows where he will race for more than a year in advance.
Saturday at Pocono Raceway, Richard Petty Motorsports announced rookie Wallace would return to the No. 43 Chevrolet team for 2019, giving the driver a second full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
An early announcement (late July rather than late December) gives Wallace stability for the remainder of 2018.
“Our announcements are usually December, January, the week of Daytona,” Wallace said. “This is nice, a stress-reliever knowing we have a certain future ahead of us.”
Team owner Petty is not far removed from Aric Almirola, a partnership that ran six seasons from 2012-2017. To have another driver return year-over-year is a positive for Petty, especially with a new manufacturer of Chevrolet in 2018.
“From our standpoint, it gives us some stability,” Petty said. “We’re still learning Bubba, he’s still learning us. We see improvements even though the finishes arent much better. I figured we’d finish up the year, gather everyone together and get in next year.”
Indeed, the finishes haven’t been there in 2018. Through the 20 races this year, only two have finished in the top 10, with a second-place finish kicking off the year in the Daytona 500.
With the hype of a black driver entering full-time in the Cup Series, the season-opening run gave fans a skewed look into realistic expectations.
“The outsiders looking in, their expectations need a little reality check,” Wallace said. “We already know but they don’t. Going up there leading every lap, we don’t have the budget. There is a disconnect from the fans.”
Sitting 24th in points, Wallace returns to Pocono Raceway for the third time after making his debut with RPM last year.