Darrell Wallace Jr., who won four races this season in the NASCAR Truck Series and finished third in the series standings, has asked out of his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, multiple sources confirmed to ThatsRacin.com and the Charlotte Observer. Although Wallace, 21, has experienced substantial success in the Truck series with Kyle Busch Motorsports the past two seasons, JGR – with whom he is under contract – had been unable to secure sponsorship for Wallace to run fulltime in any NASCAR national series in 2015. The move will allow Wallace, whose victory at Martinsville, Va., last season made him just the second African-American to win a national series race in NASCAR history, to join another organization that can provide him a fulltime ride. A spokesman for JGR declined to comment when asked by the Observer if Wallace had received a release from his contract with the organization. The most likely destination for Wallace appears to be Roush Fenway Racing, sources said. RFR already plans to field Nationwide teams for drivers Elliott Sadler, Chris Buescher and Ryan Reed in 2015. A request for comment was not immediately returned by RFR. Wallace was expected to run up to a 10 races next season with JGR in what will become the Xfinity Series on Jan. 1. JGR owner Joe Gibbs had said he expected to have a ‘big program’ for the driver who was born in Mobile, Ala., but grew up in the Charlotte area. In interviews before the end of the season, Wallace said he was not worried about the lack of a fulltime ride. ‘I’ll take what I can get,’ he said. ‘I can only go out there and continue to run up front, lead laps, and win races.’(Charlotte Observer)(12-7-2014)
UPDATE: Darrell Wallace Jr., the first African-American driver to win a NASCAR national series race in nearly 50 years, has been granted his release from Joe Gibbs Racing so he can sign with another team for 2015. According to sources, Roush Fenway Racing is the leading candidate for the 21-year-old Wallace with a full-time ride in the Xfinity Series. Neither Roush Fenway officials nor Wallace’s agent immediately returned messages seeking comment. A JGR spokesman confirmed Wallace’s release Monday morning. In 2013 and 2014, Wallace drove on loan to Kyle Busch Motorsports, where he finished eighth in the Camping World Truck Series standings as a rookie and then third in 2014. He earned his first truck win in October 2013 at Martinsville, the first African-American to win a NASCAR national series race since Wendell Scott won a Cup event in December 1963 in Jacksonville. Wallace won three more races in the series in 2014. He also competed in two Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series) events in 2014 for JGR, finishing seventh in the July race in Daytona. Despite his success, JGR had trouble finding sponsorship for him. It was angling to have at least 15 races in the Xfinity Series for him in 2015, but Wallace obviously wanted a full season.(Sporting News)(12-8-2014)
UPDATE 2:A formal announcement is expected soon, but Motorsport.com has learned that 21-year-old NASCAR Camping World truck series driver Darrell Wallace, Jr., will move to the Xfinity (formerly Nationwide) series in 2015 driving not for Joe Gibbs Racing, but for Roush Fenway as a fourth entry. Chad Norris is expected to be named Wallace’s crew chief. Wallace was granted a release from his Gibbs contract to take the Ford ride after Gibbs was unable to guarantee the former Drive for Diversity racer a full-time job for 2015. Wallace became the first African-American driver since 1963 to win a race in a NASCAR touring series when he took a victory in the Camping World series in 2013, and he backed that up with four more wins in 2014. Wallace had been driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports with Gibbs backing. Norris had been crew chief for Cup driver Carl Edwards and most recently Trevor Bayne.(Motorsport.com)(12-9-2014)
