TOYOTA NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
Darrell Wallace Jr. — Notes & Quotes
Charlotte Motor Speedway – May 15, 2014
DARRELL WALLACE JR., No. 54 Toyota Time Sales Event Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
How do you feel heading into tomorrow night’s race?
“First of all, it’s good to be back home for this weekend. Short drive over here and you don’t have to worry about all the traveling and just worry about the race day traffic and that’s always a pain. Excited to be back here at Charlotte and looking to redeem ourselves after our horrific night in Kansas. That was pretty much a test session for us and we didn’t succeed at that — we found multiple things wrong with our truck after the fact and went through it after and we know what we can do better to come here this weekend. I’m excited to get on track — it’s a different truck and it’s a brand new truck that we built. We’re looking to start the top-five streak now. I know I said that last week, but I feel like we can start it now and be progressive from here on out.”
Did your team test at Charlotte and how would limited practice today impact the team?
“I did not test here — KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) did not. Limited track time is always tough especially when we race at night here and the next practice schedule if the rain keeps up would be tomorrow morning. Everybody complains about how turn three and four is so different and one and two are pretty similar from night to day — maybe a little different, but three and four you can’t even get through during the day and then all of the sudden during the race it’s the fastest corner we go to. We’ll be alright — we have a good baseline of what we had last year. I just can’t run into Brad Keselowski again and wreck myself — that’s about the biggest thing I have to focus on.”
How can you improve on the season?
“Whenever we really get on track today — that’s when we really have to show everybody what our program is about. At Kansas we were okay — a little bit off, but that was a test session for us because we really didn’t know how our stuff would be on a mile-and-a-half with all the new changes that came over the off-season. Now we have an idea of where we need to be and everybody wants to be first so playing a little catch up to get there. I strongly believe we can get up there throughout the season. Just make smart choices on the track and be ahead of the ball each and every weekend when we unload.”
Will you be running any other Nationwide Series races this season?
“I think there are some races open and not really sure. I’m hoping so we’ll see.”
Do you keep any pieces from wrecked race cars?
“I already think about it enough so I think that’s alright, but one thing I do have from here is a piece of the rear window of a Toyota Camry pace car — one that I blew out here giving pace car rides. We were supposed to go 80 and we went like 120 with me, (Joey) Logano and Brian Scott and the light off the top came through the back window so I took a piece of glass to remind myself of how dumb that was and luckily I didn’t have to pay for it. That was probably the only thing I’ve got from any damaged cars other than that I try to get rid of them as fast as I can.”
How many races will Toyota Time Sales Event sponsor you this season?
“It’s kind of just floating around — I’ll walk in the shop and I’ll see a new sponsor on board from Toyota so it’s all affiliated through Toyota Care and Toyota Time is on the truck again this weekend for Charlotte — not sure how many races we have exactly with them. It’s cool to be able to represent Toyota’s sales events that are going on throughout the year and give people an insight about what it’s about and help Toyota be number one as a manufacturer.”
