If Darrell Wallace Jr. had one chance to press the rewind button in 2016, he knows exactly where and when he’d go back.
“Phoenix really showed in that fall race that we were one of the fastest cars,” Wallace recalled last month during the NASCAR Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway, referring to the Nov. 12, 2016 XFINITY Series event that closed out the Round of 8 in the series’ playoffs. “The race is probably the highlight one that I want to take back and do over again, but no different mindset.”
Wallace qualified his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford fifth for the 200-mile playoff cut-off race. His grandmother had passed a few days prior, so he carried “Granny Jan” above the door. Filled with raw emotion before the race and motivated to win for her, Bubba saw one of the best runs he had all year — until contact from Blake Koch‘s No. 11 ride sent him into the wall, removing him from the 2016 playoffs.
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“My grandmother was giving me the ride of my life,” a tearful Wallace told a slew of cameras after the race. “That’s the most fun I ever had all year and just circumstances took us out, so it’s just hard … Granny was going up to win that thing on that restart. It was probably the sexiest restart we’ve ever had and just had it taken away from us.”
But today, Wallace isn’t tearful: He’s upbeat, jesting with the media and wearing a large smile on his face.
“Who likes a Debbie Downer person?” Wallace said. “I could be up here like this the whole time waiting to get out of here, but that’s boring. I want to make you guys laugh and see the smiles on faces — get those chuckles whether they’re laughing at me or with me, I don’t care you’re laughing, so job well done by me. It’s just having fun.”
Bubba has a reason to smile: while he may not have a rewind button, he does have a reset button in the form of the 2017 season.
“You get to throw away last year, but still keep thoughts in your mind of where you can learn from,” Wallace told NASCAR.com. “Phoenix was such a tough day, tough weekend for us, for myself personally. Having one of the fastest cars on the race track and having it taken away was such a bummer.
“… But now, this year, you move on to it, we get to look at Phoenix as ‘man, we were so fast there in the fall’ (and) we get to go back here the (fourth) race of the season. We get to try all over again.”
If Wallace runs like he did last November at the desert track, he could be due for his first trip to Victory Lane in the XFINITY Series, a feat that’s eluded him since he joined the series in 2015. He’s come close, earning a third-place at Auto Club Speedway last March and a runner-up at Dover International Speedway five races later. He made the 12-car field in the series’ first-ever playoffs, advancing into the Round of 8 and remaining in the top 10 in points for 30 straight weeks as he closed out the season in ninth.
The lack of a W is difficult for a young, competitive spirit like 24-year-old Wallace. When adversity hits on-track, he cools down with a Coca-Cola, retreats to his self-purchased Cabarrus County home — and takes to the drums.
“Music definitely helps in tough situations. When there are tough situations like the hard ones where you’re trying to find a pick-me-up, I go to the heaviest music choice that I can,” said Wallace, referring to his affinity for metal music. “It’s like reverse psychology.”
This year, Bubba hopes for jam sessions of celebration, rather than therapy.
“We’re still trying to figure out the rest of the game plan, but our goal is to be at Homestead for the season finale and win the XFINITY Series championship,” Wallace said, referring to his sponsorship outlook for the season. “We just have to overcome some obstacles, get over a couple hurdles to get to that point, but we will be at Daytona. We’ve still got the same mindset of going in to win every race, do the best we can each and every weekend and put ourselves in the right position, especially with this new format. I’m gonna really enjoy it.”
Wallace has remained — and will remain — busy, as he prepares for the 2017 season. In the midst of Daytona preparation and phone calls with potential sponsors, he’s also launching The Bubba Wallace Scholarship fund, a $10,000 merit-based scholarship for students at Wallace’s alma mater Northwest Cabarrus High School in 2017 and 2018. The program targets students in need of financial aid that are hard-working, focused, determined and ready to pursue their dreams.
Qualities that Bubba himself embodies.
“From the hardworking side, you look at the career path that I chose,” Wallace told NASCAR.com. “You’ve got to give 110 percent every day, no matter if it’s sitting here talking to you guys or being out on the race track fighting those last couple laps at Martinsville. You have to be focused, you have to be determined on every move that you make and have the right judgment call.
“And that’s what we’re giving back to the community, picking out those certain students that are embodying those characteristics and that are trying to strive to get to the next goal and they just need a little help getting there.
“They have these big dreams — which, everybody should have big dreams and fight for them each and every way. And the ones that keep motivation and determination alive — we’re looking to help them out and to get them to the next level.”
And if all goes as planned, Bubba will reach that next level soon, too.