Danica Patrick: Top 5 Replacement Candidates in 2018
By Asher Fair
Darrell Wallace Jr.
Darrell Wallace Jr. has only raced in four NASCAR Cup Series races in 2017 as the replacement driver for the injured Aric Almirola. However, he has been rather solid, averaging a finish of 17.75 with a top finish of 11th at Kentucky.
His results aren’t spectacular, but consider the fact that he was a replacement driver as opposed to a full-time driver as well as the fact that he was the replacement driver on just a one-car team, Richard Petty Motorsports. All things considered, he did pretty well in his replacement role.
When Danica Patrick came on as the driver of the #10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet in 2013, she inevitably carried with her the novelty of being a woman, something not too common in NASCAR, and she probably still does seeing as how she has never finished higher than 24th in the standings but is still driving for a top-tier team.
Darrell Wallace Jr. is a driver who appears to be better than Patrick already, and he inevitably carries with him the novelty of being an African-American, something else that is extremely rare in NASCAR. Like it did with Patrick, a novelty like this carries loads of media attention, which can benefit the sport and its fan base as a whole.
Seeing as how he has done well in his replacement role, Wallace Jr. may take his novelty one step further than Patrick did and actually score some decent results to go along with the good publicity he gets. Stewart-Haas Racing may very well give him the chance seeing as how they gave Patrick hers.