Wallace Jr. on potential final No. 43 start: ‘Hopefully made a name for myself’
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SPARTA, Ky. -- Darrell Wallace Jr. stood on pit road Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway after what was perhaps his final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.
Surrounded by a slew of reporters, Wallace spoke about his 11th-place finish in good spirits, despite the circumstances.
It’s bittersweet, he said.
“The way I looked at it, we were 26th at Pocono, 19th at Michigan, which is a top 20, top 15 at Daytona -- I damn sure wanted a top 10 today to keep the momentum going,” Wallace said. “But we were one spot short. But a great day here at (Kentucky) for our Smithfield team. Really had some fun out there, hopefully made a name for myself in these couple handful of starts.”
After Wallace was told his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford in the XFINITY Series would cease operation until further notice due to lack of funding, he was tapped to drive the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford in place of injured Aric Almirola in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Wallace made his first premier series start at Pocono in June, followed by three other starts.
Almirola will test on Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway and, depending on how he feels behind the wheel then, is tentatively scheduled to race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend. This leaves Wallace with an uncertain future in NASCAR, searching for his next ride.