NASCAR: Darrell Wallace Jr. finds Aric Almirola’s advice funny
By Asher Fair
Darrell Wallace Jr. finds the advice of fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Aric Almirola regarding driving for Richard Petty Motorsports to be funny.
Aric Almirola, 33, recently gave advice to his replacement at Richard Petty Motorsports ahead of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season. That replacement is 24-year-old Darrell Wallace Jr., who substituted in four races for Almirola last season.
Wallace Jr. drove at Pocono, Michigan, Daytona and Kentucky last season as Almirola’s substitute in the #43 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports when Almirola was sidelined for seven races due to a back injury he sustained in a nasty wreck in May at Kansas Speedway.
Wallace Jr. improved his result in each of those four races, as he finished in 26th, 19th, 15th and 11th place in those four races, respectively, thus giving him an average finish of 17.75 in his first four career Cup Series starts.
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This season, Wallace Jr. is set to take over the driving duties of the #43 car, which is now the #43 Chevrolet, for Almirola at Richard Petty Motorsports, as Almirola is set to replace Danica Patrick, who recently retired from her role as a full-time Cup Series driver, at Stewart-Haas Racing in the #10 Ford.
Smithfield Foods, Inc. transferred their sponsorship from Richard Petty Motorsports to Stewart-Haas Racing, so they will continue to sponsor Almirola given the fact that he also switched from the former to the latter over the offseason.
Almirola’s advice to Wallace Jr. ahead of the 2018 season in regard to driving for Richard Petty Motorsports basically boils down to three words: “Don’t screw up.” Wallace Jr. however, finds that advice to be “funny”, especially given the fact that Almirola is the one giving it.
Here is how Wallace Jr. responded to Almirola’s advice, according to Motorsport.com.
"“It’s funny that Aric wants to give advice. I still have the text he sent me before my debut, which wasn’t advice. But no, I haven’t seen that side yet of the King. Working with the King is special like I’ve said over on TV, I’ve worked with a lot of cool bosses and owners, and there’s no one like Richard Petty.“I mean, he has just this aura around him. When he walks in the room, it’s like, that’s Richard Petty right there, and you still get starstruck. He wants to see the No. 43 back to its winning ways. He wants it to be a more competitive car, and at the same time, we all know realistically that it’s going to take a little bit.“It’s not going to happen overnight with the things we’ve got going on, like I said, switching over everything [moving from Ford to Chevrolet], we’ve got some pieces of the puzzle, [like] how are we going to be.”“For me to share a little bit of his history and his past and all of his accomplishments, you know, in my rookie season, it’s like, this is like, who would have ever thought this story would happen. I’m just looking at it as don’t mess up, don’t be a hero like he told me before climbing into the car at Pocono. There’s no need to be a hero, just go out there and do what I can do.”"
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Will Darrell Wallace Jr. still be laughing following his first season as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver for Richard Petty Motorsports this year? Follow the nine-month season from start to finishing starting with the 60th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 18th. It is set to be broadcast live on FOX starting at 2:30 pm ET.