After his previous ride with Roush Fenway Racing closed earlier this year due to lack of sponsorship, Darrell Wallace Jr. will be back in the XFINITY Series next weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.
The 23-year-old Mobile, Ala., native has joined forces with Biagi DenBeste Racing to pilot its No. 98 Ford Mustang with sponsorship from Nickelodeon.
Bubba's back!
Get the slime ready, @BubbaWallace will run #XFINITYSeries in the #98 at @ChicagolndSpdwy. pic.twitter.com/HdlkdQACj3
— Xfinity Racing (@XfinityRacing) September 7, 2017
“I’m really glad to get back behind the wheel of a race car,” Wallace said in a press statement. “Chicago has always been a decent track for me where I’ve had some good finishes. I’m excited to get back in the XFINITY Series in a Ford Mustang. With the history with Biagi DenBeste Racing and (Richard Petty Motorsports), we should have some good speed.”
“It’s really cool to be pair with Nickelodeon,” Wallace added. “We’ve formed a great relationship over the past three years, and we’re able to do these one off races to attract the youth to the sport. With such a cool looking car this weekend, I think we’ll do just that.”
Wallace has 84 starts in his XFINITY Series career, scoring six top fives and 34 top-10 finishes. This season, he only competed in 12 events before his No. 6 RFR team shut down.
Wallace also competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for Richard Petty Motorsports in Aric Almirola‘s absence due to a back injury. In four races wheeling the No. 43 Ford, Wallace finished 11th at Kentucky Speedway, his best finish in the four-race stint.
Most recently, Wallace was in Victory Lane in the Camping World Truck Series for MDM Motorsports’ No. 99 truck at Michigan International Speedway. That win was his sixth in his NCWTS career and first since the 2014 season, when he won for races for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Sports Business Journal‘s Adam Stern said that RPM had a hand in helping Wallace secure the No. 98 ride for the Chicagoland weekend.
.@RPMotorsports helped put together the deal for @BubbaWallace to drive the No. 98 Ford @ChicagolndSpdwy.
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) September 7, 2017
The Chicagoland 300 is scheduled to take place on Saturday afternoon from the 1.5-mile tri-oval in Joliet, Ill.
Amirola & more recently Mears have been handling Biagi/DenBeste Racing NXS duties. And BDR are affiliates of RPM, so this is a great hook up for Bubba, his fans & Ford fans!
Makes me think RPM is considering bringing back the #44 or #9 to the main game for Bubba. That, or Aric is on shaky ground. Either way, Bubba is a force to be reckoned with on a race track, so I’m sure he’ll get hooked up somewhere full-time, be that NXS or Cup. I just hope it’s within the covenant of the Blue Oval! :D
Get with the program, as I was once told on this site. The #9 will be entered by Hendricks Motorsports and driven by the anointed one, Chase Elliot.
Hopefully the weekend killings in the Chicago hood will stop as they come out to support Bubba in his new ride.
Get ready for more cautions.