Is Darrell Wallace, Jr. the Future of Petty Motorsports?

Darrell “Bubba” Wallace, Jr. has been a consistent face for the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the past few years now, and even though he has never visited victory lane during his time in there, he has almost always been a driver to watch out for.

And Monster Energy Cup Series fans should also be watchful of him in the near future.

To recap, Wallace started four races for Richard Petty Motorsports earlier this year, subbing for an injured Aric Almirola in famous No. 43. Before that, Wallace posted seven top-10 finishes in 12 Xfinity Series races before Roush-Fenway Racing suspended operations for Wallace’s No. 6 ride due to sponsorship issues.

Usually with substitute drivers in NASCAR’s premiere series, we see finishes all across the board with little indication as to how they could play into a driver’s potential success. However, Wallace consistently became better with each race; after a ho-hum 26th place finish at the first Pocono race, Wallace posted finishes of 19th at Michigan, 15th at Daytona and 11th at Kentucky before relinquishing the ride to Almirola.

The experience Wallace received at these tracks is crucial considering each brings something different to the table: You have a 2.5-mile tri-oval in Pocono that can be hard on a car’s gearbox, a two-mile D-shaped oval in Michigan, a restrictor plate track in Daytona and a standard 1.5-mile track in Kentucky.

But perhaps Wallace’s biggest parting gift besides a career best finish was the praise and support he received from the King himself. Petty has been rumored to be trying to add a second car to his team to accommodate Wallace and is trying to find sponsorship for said rumored car.

With Almirola’s contract expiring at the end of the season and Almirola’s future with RPM unknown at this time, the King will be looking for another protégé to drive the No. 43, and why not Wallace? I can see Wallace performing about as well as Ryan Blaney in his rookie season with the Wood Brothers, a second-tier team in the same competitive realm as RPM. This year however, Blaney turned the team into a championship contender. Wallace could be the shot in the arm RPM needs to break through the barrier like the Wood Brothers did with Blaney (although I can see the regression with Paul Menard piloting the No. 21 next year).

While William Byron will very well be the name analysts will look out for next year across the leaderboards, Wallace should not be overlooked. While it is an absolute shame Wallace’s ride with Jack Roush ended unceremoniously, Wallace should have his chin up knowing he has one of the greatest (if not, the greatest) names in NASCAR watching out for him. That could lead to more interest from other teams, and with this year’s season-long game of musical chairs not quite over yet, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Wallace’s name in headlines this fall.

Fun fact: Wallace is the first driver of African American heritage to drive the No. 43 car.