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Sprint Cup
HEMBREE: The Next Big Thing?
Darrell Wallace could be NASCAR’s breakthrough diversity driver…
Darrell Wallace Jr. finished ninth in his Nationwide Series debut. (Photo: Getty Images)
Darrell Wallace Jr. doesn’t look like he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
And maybe he isn’t. At least not yet.
At the moment, he seems like a calm kid, an 18-year-old just happy to be at Charlotte Motor Speedway, living a dream thousands of other 18-year-olds across the country – and, really, beyond its borders – would love to encounter.
But, if things go as mapped, Wallace soon could be in a public relations maelstrom of epic proportions. And that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.
Not for him. Not for NASCAR.
Wallace is black, and that’s so unusual in NASCAR racing that he stands out any time he’s in a group of other drivers, team members, mechanics, media members – heck, almost any group of motorsports people.
NASCAR has been very slow to develop a steady, successful presence by a black driver on any of its major circuits. The only victory in the sport’s history by a black driver was scored almost 50 years ago by journeyman driver Wendell Scott.
Having discovered the values of diversity a decade or so ago, NASCAR has put time, effort and money into a Drive for Diversity program, but it’s one that has been slow to bear fruit.
Wallace could be its first big graduate.
It doesn’t hurt that he has a racer’s first name and a racer’s last name and, not incidentally, a racer’s nickname – Bubba, courtesy of his sister.
It also doesn’t hurt that he’s in a driver development program with Joe Gibbs Racing, a class operation that can put him in equipment in which he can produce.
Wallace took a very important step on the road to the big time Sunday at Iowa Speedway. He made his Nationwide Series debut in a JGR Toyota, and his performance was virtually perfect, lighting some fires of hope among those for whom racing diversity is an ongoing issue.
Wallace finished ninth in the race, a run few would have predicted prior to the event.
This could be the start of something big.
Even at his tender age, Wallace has a grasp on what he could mean to the sport if all this works out. But he also realizes it’s a process.
“I don’t want to go out there and think I’m going to win the next one,” he said. “I’m going to take what the car will give me and do what I can. I want to keep the car under me and not make any boneheaded mistakes.”
He said he needed 200 of the Iowa race’s 250 laps to feel comfortable in the car and get a firm understanding of what was possible. Then he began dancing with the raw edge that separates average drivers from good ones.
“I was kind of under-driving it the first 200 laps, then the last 50 I went a little harder,” Wallace said. “That’s where you have to be a race car driver and be really good at it. You have to dig deep and find that limit. I found my limit a couple of times. I got sideways a lot and backed off some and found a little edge where I felt comfortable.
“I knew the car was capable of a top 10. I knew the team and car were there. I could have had a better finish. I lacked on restarts and a few other things. But that was the first race, and I’ll take it.”
What’s ahead? Wallace is scheduled to run three more Nationwide races – Dover, Richmond and back at Iowa – this year, and, depending on sponsorship, could be a full-timer on NASCAR’s No. 2 tour next season.
Ah, sponsorship. That’s the missing piece in this puzzle. No major company has stepped forward to add races to Wallace’s schedule, and that perhaps is the most stunning thing about this situation. Wallace appears to be the real deal, and a sponsor attached to his rise through NASCAR’s top levels could be in for a publicity bonanza. It’s relatively surprising that NASCAR hasn’t put its considerable muscle behind finding a sponsor for Wallace – or, if it has, that no progress has been made.
When Wallace finally races in Nationwide again, a repeat of his Iowa performance could push him up the ladder quickly. And that would be a good thing for all parties. NASCAR needs him to do well.
As for Wallace, he says he and his team “are taking our time, nice and slow.”
He can see the goal out there, though.
“There’s no one at the top level,” he said. “That’s my goal to get up there one day. I’m not going to rush that at all, and take a nice, steady pace to get there one day. It’s something that motivates me to go out there and drive harder.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
And maybe he isn’t. At least not yet.
At the moment, he seems like a calm kid, an 18-year-old just happy to be at Charlotte Motor Speedway, living a dream thousands of other 18-year-olds across the country – and, really, beyond its borders – would love to encounter.
But, if things go as mapped, Wallace soon could be in a public relations maelstrom of epic proportions. And that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.
Not for him. Not for NASCAR.
Wallace is black, and that’s so unusual in NASCAR racing that he stands out any time he’s in a group of other drivers, team members, mechanics, media members – heck, almost any group of motorsports people.
NASCAR has been very slow to develop a steady, successful presence by a black driver on any of its major circuits. The only victory in the sport’s history by a black driver was scored almost 50 years ago by journeyman driver Wendell Scott.
Having discovered the values of diversity a decade or so ago, NASCAR has put time, effort and money into a Drive for Diversity program, but it’s one that has been slow to bear fruit.
Wallace could be its first big graduate.
It doesn’t hurt that he has a racer’s first name and a racer’s last name and, not incidentally, a racer’s nickname – Bubba, courtesy of his sister.
It also doesn’t hurt that he’s in a driver development program with Joe Gibbs Racing, a class operation that can put him in equipment in which he can produce.
Wallace took a very important step on the road to the big time Sunday at Iowa Speedway. He made his Nationwide Series debut in a JGR Toyota, and his performance was virtually perfect, lighting some fires of hope among those for whom racing diversity is an ongoing issue.
Wallace finished ninth in the race, a run few would have predicted prior to the event.
This could be the start of something big.
Even at his tender age, Wallace has a grasp on what he could mean to the sport if all this works out. But he also realizes it’s a process.
“I don’t want to go out there and think I’m going to win the next one,” he said. “I’m going to take what the car will give me and do what I can. I want to keep the car under me and not make any boneheaded mistakes.”
He said he needed 200 of the Iowa race’s 250 laps to feel comfortable in the car and get a firm understanding of what was possible. Then he began dancing with the raw edge that separates average drivers from good ones.
“I was kind of under-driving it the first 200 laps, then the last 50 I went a little harder,” Wallace said. “That’s where you have to be a race car driver and be really good at it. You have to dig deep and find that limit. I found my limit a couple of times. I got sideways a lot and backed off some and found a little edge where I felt comfortable.
“I knew the car was capable of a top 10. I knew the team and car were there. I could have had a better finish. I lacked on restarts and a few other things. But that was the first race, and I’ll take it.”
What’s ahead? Wallace is scheduled to run three more Nationwide races – Dover, Richmond and back at Iowa – this year, and, depending on sponsorship, could be a full-timer on NASCAR’s No. 2 tour next season.
Ah, sponsorship. That’s the missing piece in this puzzle. No major company has stepped forward to add races to Wallace’s schedule, and that perhaps is the most stunning thing about this situation. Wallace appears to be the real deal, and a sponsor attached to his rise through NASCAR’s top levels could be in for a publicity bonanza. It’s relatively surprising that NASCAR hasn’t put its considerable muscle behind finding a sponsor for Wallace – or, if it has, that no progress has been made.
When Wallace finally races in Nationwide again, a repeat of his Iowa performance could push him up the ladder quickly. And that would be a good thing for all parties. NASCAR needs him to do well.
As for Wallace, he says he and his team “are taking our time, nice and slow.”
He can see the goal out there, though.
“There’s no one at the top level,” he said. “That’s my goal to get up there one day. I’m not going to rush that at all, and take a nice, steady pace to get there one day. It’s something that motivates me to go out there and drive harder.”
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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