UPDATE 2: Bubba Wallace confirmed to NBCSN’s Marty Snider on Sunday that he is mulling offers from Richard Petty Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing for next season.
Snider reported that Wallace and RPM co-owner Andrew Murstein both confirmed that Wallace already has ownership in the team. Snider reported that Wallace, whose contract expires after this season, said that it is “not locked and loaded” that he’ll stay with Richard Petty Motorsports after this season.
The offer from Chip Ganassi Racing would be to drive the No. 42 car next season.
— NBC Sports —
UPDATE: Frontstretch’s Dustin Albino talked to Bubba Wallace on Saturday.
Albino: The report came out last Sunday of RPM offering you partial ownership of the team. What would it mean to be a partial owner of the same team as Richard Petty?
Wallace: I think it’s different than buying into the company and being a part that way. You have to really go through and figure out all the details and understand what it really means under these circumstances.
RPM made a huge commitment in me back in 2017 to get me the opportunity to fill in (for Aric Almirola) and eventually signing me on in 2018. They’ve definitely supported me every step of the way in my Cup career and I’m very appreciative of that. It’s a contract year; we’ve got to get things in line, we’ve got to get things running better. We’ve had those tough conversations with the people at RPM to get things in place for next year, so it’s a matter of finalizing everything, getting things underway and figuring out what’s the best option for us.
Albino: When do you hope to have a decision by?
Wallace: My decisions don’t usually come about until an hour before climbing in the car for Daytona, so anytime in the next couple of days, weeks is a hell of an improvement from years past.
Albino: For you, what ultimately goes into making that decision; is it fast cars with the capability of winning or setting yourself up for the future?
Wallace: It’s a mixture. Being a part of a team that is like family, I’m very vocal about that. Not just an asset or liability to a team and just a driver and showing up to the racetrack, being a part of the family, being a part of the shop employees and having that relationship is very important.
Also, we have to have winning racecars and the capability of winning. We’ve got half the puzzle there. We’ve got the great family at RPM, we just have to get our cars better and more competitive to seal that deal. There’s a lot of work on that side of things to really solidify the future.
See much more at Frontstretch.
ORIGINAL POST 8-9-2020: BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 9th
ON A COUPLE OF THOSE FINAL RESTARTS, I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A POTENTIAL WIN. WERE YOU THINKING WHEN YOU HAD THAT SHOT ON THE SECOND ROW, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PULL THIS OFF BECAUSE YOU MADE A BOLD MOVE TO THE MIDDLE?
“A solid day for us and our Victory Junction Chevrolet. I appreciate everybody back at the shop. I know this whole COVID-19 deal has been tough. I haven’t been able to go to the shop and show my appreciation and how much they really work and make our cars better week in, and week out. So, it’s been fun. We’re in the middle of ‘silly season’ right now, so my mind is there, it’s here. So, to come out with a solid top-10 finish is positive. We’ve got a lot of work to do. I was not happy with the car, but I think that’s the racer mentality. I don’t know if (Kevin) Harvick, (race winner) was happy about his car, either. We always strive to be better, but all in all, it was a solid day. The choose rule. Good job, NASCAR. That was fun. That was cool. It brought be back to the shootout days. I didn’t tick as many people off as I did at the shootout today, so it was all good.”
THESE RUNS ARE GREAT, RIGHT? ARE THEY EVEN BETTER WHEN HEY, YOU GET TO TURN AROUND AND DO THIS AGAIN IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS TOMORROW?
“Absolutely. The race distance is a lot of fun. It’s something to look at, too, for sure. But man, say a prayer for us. Everybody say a prayer for us. There’s a big deal on the line right now and this could only help so much. I have yet to check my phone to see the status of it, but this will send us over the top if we can get it done. So, it’s been a lot of hard work off the race track for my team and everybody involved, to make things better. And that’s what we’re trying to do. So, putting solid runs together and having awesome restarts all thing, this is only going to help the effort. So, I’m definitely smiling.”
— Team Chevy —