Prior to making his Monster Energy Cup Series debut Sunday, Darrell Wallace Jr. said he wanted to have an uneventful, mistake-free race and leave Pocono Raceway with a respectable finish.
Darrell Wallace Jr. faints after NASCAR Cup Series debut
Wallace had three speeding penalties and finished 26th in his first Cup Series start.
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
That didn’t quite happen, with Wallace earning three penalties for speeding on pit road and finishing 26th in the Pocono 400. And afterward, the 23-year-old driver briefly fainted as he stood on pit road speaking with reporters. He quickly came to and proceeded to victory lane to congratulate good friend Ryan Blaney, who scored his first career win Sunday. Wallace would then go to the infield care center and be treated for dehydration.
“It’s a heck of a way to start my weekend and heck of a way to end my weekend, passing out,” Wallace said. “Patting myself on the back for that.
“I’m just so bummed out and frustrated with myself. … Just wanted to have a good showing, and to speed four, five times, same segment, that was pretty tough to swallow. It was just not our day.”
Richard Petty Motorsports named Wallace earlier in the week as the substitute driver of its No. 43 car until Aric Almirola can return from a back injury suffered in May 13 crash at Kansas Speedway. Wallace had never competed higher than the second-tier Xfinity Series before his promotion, and had little practice time prior to Sunday’s race.
While Wallace avoided any issues on the track, didn’t crash or make competitors upset, he did repeatedly struggle getting on and off pit road. He was penalized for speeding on his first stop of the afternoon on Lap 25, and again when he came back in to serve the initial stop-and-go penalty.
The Cup Series uses a digital dashboard to gauge pit road speed, opposed to a rudimentary tachometer used in NASCAR’s other national touring divisions. Wallace said it took time to get acclimated and his lack of familiarity with the technology contributed to him amassing the trio of speeding citations.
“I’m so used to analog tachs and everything, and this digital stuff I’ve got to figure out,” Wallace said. “A lot of other guys say it’s fine, so I’ve just got to figure out what I’ve got to do better. But it’s just frustrating on my part.”
Still, Wallace was encouraged by his performance and believes he and the team can build off the outing. His next start comes Sunday at Michigan International Raceway.
Almirola’s exact timetable for when he may return isn’t known. The 33-year-old suffered a compression fracture and the initial diagnosis called for him to miss between two and three months.
“This is a first step,” Wallace said. “I know we ran a good, clean race, and that’s all you can ask, didn’t wreck the car, brought it home in one piece, so I’m pumped for the guys.”
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