Bubba Wallace Signs Multi-Year Contract Extension with RPM

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer

With just over half of their first full-season together, Richard Petty Motorsports has signed Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace, Jr. to a multi-year contract extension. Wallace, who debuted in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with the team co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty at Pocono Raceway last season, will make his 25^th Premier Series start on Sunday.

Wallace, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year competitor, earned a runner-up finish in the Daytona 500 and has two top-10s this season. Prior to the season, RPM moved from Ford Performance to Chevy Racing and the new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The teams’ No. 43, like other Chevrolet teams, have struggled this season in comparison to Ford and Toyota.

“Our highs have been well documented and so have our lows,” said Wallace. “It’s all a part of growing together as a team with a new alliance, a new shop, a new manufacturer, a new car and being a rookie driver. It’s a wild ride and I’m thankful to the Petty family for allowing me to be on it. Richard is competitive, and I think about winning in the ’43’ all the time. We both want the same thing and we’re building that. Today, allows us to get this confirmed and continue to focus on the future.”

The continuation of the relationship with Wallace and RPM allows the team to work on filling sponsorship gaps. The team will have the 15^th different sponsor, Mile 22, on the car for the 21^st race of the season, the Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono. World Wide Technology still has four more races, as does various partner brands from Smithfield Foods.

“We have faith in Bubba and in our team that we’ll continue to get better, together,” said Petty. “This confirmation allows our partners to start building for next season and beyond. It also allows the different companies that we’re talking to now know that we’re very serious about building our future with Bubba as our driver.”

In 24 races with RPM, Wallace has just one DNF, an engine failure after a missed-shift at Pocono earlier this year. In his rookie season, he has an average finish of 22^ndheading into Sunday’s race.

Wallace is currently 24^thin the Championship Points Standings, 529-points behind Points Leader Kyle Busch. He is also 138-points behind the cutoff for the Playoffs, held by Alex Bowman. In the Rookie Points battle, Wallace is 43-points behind fellow Chevy driver William Byron.