Second-place result at Las Vegas is Bubba’s fifth runner-up finish this year
LAS VEGAS — After Darrell Wallace Jr. climbed from the cockpit of his No. 54 Toyota Tundra following Saturday night’s Rhino Linings 350 Camping World Truck Series race, he walked around the tail of his ride and towards the big patch of grass in the infield of Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Dejected, he looked up, shook his head and let out a big sigh.
You’d never have known that he just picked up his best finish at the 1.5-mile track — second.
After leading a race-dominating 84 of 146 laps, Wallace stumbled in lapped traffic and begrudgingly ceded the lead to his Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Erik Jones, who wound up winning his second race in just nine 2014 starts.
“Just got beat; I gave it my all and that was it,” said Wallace. “We were OK. We’ll rebuild on this. I’m kind of at a loss for words, man. I thought this would be ours.
“I was trying my hardest not to let him by. Lapped traffic was big here. We were just a little bit free and this thing would act wicked when you got around other cars and he just got around me, simple as that. I tried to keep it on his door and I just got loose up top. Just got beat.”
The second-place finish, Wallace’s seventh result of either first or second in 17 starts this season, was enough to inch a little bit closer to defending series champion and current points leader Matt Crafton. However, the fellow Toyota driver crossed the start/finish line right behind the 54 for a third-place result, leaving Wallace 33 points behind.
“Crafton, still right behind me, for sure, as always,” Wallace said, alluding to the fact that the pair finished 2-3 in last week’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Wallace, who said he “ain’t worried about (the points race),” doesn’t miss the fact that a win for the 18-year-old Jones is good for his organization and did offer his support for his teammate, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t wish it was him celebrating Saturday night.
“Congrats to Erik and the 51 guys; another KBM dominance for sure,” he said.
“It was a good race for us. This was a brand new Toyota Tundra and our mile-and-a-half program is turning around; I keep saying that and it’s definitely shown. Finally caught some good luck here, just finished one spot short.
“It’s cool to see a KBM truck win, a Toyota in Victory Lane, but I’m ready to get back in Victory Lane. We’re hungry. It’s just frustrating.”
While it’s likely little consolation, Crafton knows the feeling.
“Darrell and me were talking about it in the elevator, just second and third it’s good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just aggravating to sit here and finish second,” the ThorSport driver said. “I know how he feels. My teammate beat me here about four years ago; passed me right at the end of the race. I know what he’s feeling right now. He’s probably not going to sleep very well tonight, I can promise you that.”
Despite the pep talk from his competitor, this one still stings a bit.
“It’s a bittersweet moment,” Wallace said, “but we’ll go on to Talladega, go to some (University of Tennessee) games here in the next couple of weeks, relax and get ready for the hell show at Talladega.”
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