For the first time since February, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is back on track this weekend at Martinsville and ready to rock. One of the drivers that is excited about being back on track is Darrell Wallace Jr.
On Friday to kick off the on-track action, Wallace Jr. topped the practice charts ahead of his fellow competitors.
“We were fast here in the spring last year so we’re backing that up again,” Wallace commented. “We had a little heart attack moment when (Ryan) Blaney knocked me off of the top so we bolted on another set of stickers and went out there and took it back from him. He wasn’t too happy, but I had to keep it going. Very, very happy about my Toyota Tundra.”
Last fall, Darrell Wallace Jr. led the majority of the laps and took home his first career Camping World Truck Series victory. Now with that victory in his backpocket, he says it’s much different coming back this year versus last year as he knows what he has to do to win.
“I learned a lot following Denny (Hamlin) on the race track and I’ve been using that today to my advantage in practice,” Wallace said. “The race times haven’t really been there where we needed them to be. I was telling our crew chief not to get discouraged — that was really me learning what I did in the race. Just trying to utilize that and get our Toyota Tundra better for the long runs if we have any. I’m a winner, but I’m a loser too because I lost the next race so you’re automatically back in the losers bracket too. That’s the tough thing about this sport. We’re looking to get back on that list and go for two in a row here at Martinsville.”
Beyond learning from Hamlin last year and just having laps under his belt, Wallace feels that he’s good at tracks like this due to his Legends experience with running the Summer Shootout at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Wallace noted that running the quarter mile down on Atlanta’s frontstretch is just like Martinsville, except Martinsville is bigger.
“It gives you that same mentality,” Wallace added. “I still have my Legends car — I haven’t ran it in two years, but I’ve run it for seven years in a row at the Summer Shootout so that teaches you a lot about what to expect coming to these paperclip tracks. I really enjoy it. This is where my heart and soul is — where I started on short tracks. It’s just something that’s second hand to me or second nature.”
Wallace continued on to say that he feels he should be stronger this year simply due to having experience at hte tracks versus last year.
“I can go to these race tracks and have that confidence level that I have here at Martinsville and Bristol and just places that I’ve been to a lot and I’ve turned numerous laps here in my late model — ran a K&N East race here in 2010 and finished third,” he said. “It’s just really been my strong suit so I don’t really know, it’s just little things you pick up on I guess.”
With having a pair of top fives last year at Martinsville, Wallace says the confidence level is high as he feels confident not just about this weekend, but the rest of the season as a whole.
“I know we’re capable of more wins and we just have to put everything in line and go out there and make it happen and for me to put everything in line is not to wreck,” Wallace said. “We were bad fast here in the spring and ended up fifth, getting in a tizzy with somebody and punching a hole in the nose. Go to Charlotte and Kentucky and wreck so it just took us out of contention. We’ve always had the speed — my Toyota Tundra has been fast each and every weekend of last year and we’re looking to do the same.
“For me, it’s changing the whole game plan from the driver’s seat.”
