NASCAR’s Darrell Wallace Jr. keeps steady pace in rookie season

Darrell Wallace Jr., who’s trying to become the next African American driver to race full time in NASCAR’s top series, is having a steady if unremarkable rookie season in NASCAR’s third-level truck series.

Wallace, who turned 20 this month, is ninth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings, about where he’s been during much of the season.

He’s yet to win a race but has 10 top-10 finishes and four top-five finishes through 18 races so far this season.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver, who’s nicknamed Bubba, was poised for another top-five finish last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, where Wallace was running fifth entering the final lap.

But as the field raced toward the checkered flag, Wallace’s No. 54 Toyota Tundra, prepared by Kyle Busch Motorsports, was collected in a 12-truck crash, leaving him with a 17th-place finish.

Wallace was slammed by other trucks and careened into the outside wall, but was not injured. “It was the hardest hit of my career and scared the hell out of me,” he said. “It just happened so fast, I’m just glad it’s over with.”

No African American currently drives full time in NASCAR’s premier Sprint Cup Series or its second-level Nationwide Series.

The sport is watching Wallace closely to see if he develops the skills and experience necessary not only to compete at those levels, but to attract the corporate sponsorship his team will need for him to run a full season among NASCAR’s best.

In the meantime, Wallace had this to say on Twitter after the violent Talladega crash:

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