NASCAR issued a behavioral penalty to Richard Petty Motorsports driver Bubba Wallace on Saturday for intentionally manipulating competition last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
Over the years the racing at Daytona International Speedway has proved that when it comes to the finish, it doesn't matter how strong a car may be; things become a crapshoot. But with that being said, Darrell "Bubba" Wallace's Daytona Speedweeks went like a dream as he was fortunate enough to have one of the strongest cars in Daytona Beach.
It looks like the new ride height rule has crew chiefs and engineers scratching their heads about how to make the car handle at Daytona. Thankfully they have a couple of days to run simulations and get a plan together and hopefully bring us an action-packed Daytona 500.
Darrell Wallace Jr. answered questions about his move from Roush Fenway and Richard Petty Motorsports Fords to a Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet. The team is now operating from a shop on the Richard Childress Racing campus using ECR engines. The Charlotte Motor Speedway Media participants peppered Wallace with questions.
During his legendary career, Richard Petty won 200 NASCAR races behind the wheel of the famous No. 43 car. He made history time and time again and now his team is doing it again with one of the most important decisions in Richard Petty Motorsports history.
Given the current landscape of sports in the United States, there are two questions that remain unanswered. One, will there be an NFL team that finally signs Colin Kaepernick? And two, will there be a NASCAR team that finally gives Bubba Wallace a chance to be a regular in the Monster Series?
Petty also confirmed that driver Aric Almirola would not return to the organization in 2018, but the team intends to continue racing, as it has since 1949.
Richard Petty Motorsports announced today that NASCAR XFINITY Series regular Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. will pilot the No. 43 Ford while Aric Almirola recovers from his injuries. Wallace brings five years of NASCAR experience in both the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series and has been a member of the Ford Performance team since 2015. Wallace, a graduate of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program and inaugural member of NASCAR Next, will make his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Pocono Raceway this weekend.