‘Welcome to the big leagues’ moment sinks in for Bubba Wallace

RELATED: 2018 NASCAR schedule Darrell Wallace Jr.'s transition to full-time driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series won't officially take effect until he hits the track in Daytona next month. But the reality of his place in NASCAR's top series is starting to set in. The newly tapped driver for Richard Petty Motorsports' No. 43 Chevrolet had lunch with his crew last week, touring the shop at Richard Childress Racing, where RPM has forged an alliance for 2018. That's when the 24-year-old rookie's move to stock-car racing's major leagues became even more palpable. "Just walking through the RCR main shop there and seeing our cars kind of float around, it was really neat seeing my name on the back glass," Wallace told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Monday. "I was like, 'Damn, this is awesome.' I've finally made it to the Cup Series and these are my cars. No more replacement, filling in for anybody -- these are mine. Pretty cool to see that and see how far it's coming along." Wallace's remarks came in between media events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he was making a promotional appearance for the track's NASCAR tripleheader weekend March 2-4. In just a few weeks, he'll be prepping for his first start in the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. Wallace's visit was a reunion of sorts. The Alabama native made four starts for the Richard Petty-owned group on an interim basis as Aric Almirola recovered from injuries suffered in a May 13 crash at Kansas Speedway. Wallace improved his finishing position -- from 26th, 19th, 15th to 11th -- in each of his starts, a trend he's aiming to keep going in 2018. In the meantime, he's enjoyed catching up with many of the same crewmembers that he worked with during his four-race stint last season. "It really creates that close bond with the team," Wallace told SiriusXM. "You get pumped up going to the race track and everybody from the shop is basically at the race track with you. How RPM operates is very family-oriented. … We're all family there. From those four races last season, coming back this year, you didn't have to start over new with anybody. Everybody was, 'Hey, Bubba. Happy New Year. Welcome back,' and the same to them. It was good to see some familiar faces there."