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Showing posts with the label Darrell Wallace

Redemption at Talladega - Darrell 'Bubba' Wallace Jr. Wins!

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Become a Patron! After years of ups and down for Darrell Wallace Jr., a dominating drive at the end of the second stage of NASCAR's Talladega 500 resulted in a historic moment. For only the second time in history, a black man has won at NASCAR's top level. Wallace, who has dealt with an unrequested responsibility of leading NASCAR's diversity movement, has competed in the sport since 2017. He was winless in his first 142 career cup starts, but showed underlying talent in lower divisions. In both NASCAR's Truck Series and Regional K/N East Touring series, he had a previous total of 6 wins each.  While today's event ended in rain, speed and dominance at the largest tracks in the sport are not new for the Mobile Alabama native. He has led in 4 consecutive events at Talladega and was a matter of feet away from winning the 2018 Daytona 500.  Wallace's team, newly found 23Xi (Pronounced Twenty-Three Eleven) Racing is co-owned by NASCAR elite Denny Hamlin and NBA Hall-...

23XI Founding Partners Announced

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--Press Release--   23XI Racing announced DoorDash, McDonald’s, Columbia Sportswear, Dr Pepper and Root Insurance as its founding partners, joining Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 Toyota Camry for the 2021 season. Below are comments from Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and key executives from each partner. Denny Hamlin “Today is a big day for us at 23XI Racing. To be able to announce the addition of five founding partners who are willing to join us in our first year and who share in our beliefs and values is such a great feeling. We’ve certainly had to make things happen fast to build this new team, and I’m excited to welcome each one of these partners and to get to know them better. I’m fortunate that during my time at Joe Gibbs Racing I’ve been able to have a great mentor and see how Coach, as an owner, is able to service each partner. That’s new for me - learning the owner side while still on the driver side, but I’m in for the long haul and will continue this far beyond my driving yea...

2020 NASCAR Champion wins Most Popular Driver Award

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  There seems to be a trend when it comes to most popular driver in regards to the most popular form of motorsports. NASCAR's newest champion Chase Elliott won his third consecutive fan-focused recognition and was awarded it during the virtual season awards banquet on Wednesday night.  The recognition came with no surprise to many in the media. Since 1991, the most popular driver award has been only awarded to members of the Earnhardt and Elliott families. Chase's father Bill Elliott won the award a total of 16 times. Dale Earnhardt Sr. was awarded it posthumously in 2001, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. won it the final 15 years of his hall of fame career. While Chase Elliott appears to be starting a dynasty in regards to this award himself, there is an increase in fan voting and popularity of young drivers such as Darrell Wallace Jr. , Ryan Blaney, and Matt Dibenedetto that could lead to more competition in future years.  Chase also won most popular honours in NASCAR's Xfinity S...

Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin Team Name Announced - 23XI Racing

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  The new racing team that is being started by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan has been officially announced as 23XI Racing (Prounounced Twenty-Three Eleven Racing). The name pays homage to both the legendary NBA Hall of Famer's basketball number as well as co-owner Denny Hamlin's racing number 11.  The team has not officially announced that they will be running Toyota in the 2021 season, but it is widely understood that this will be a TRD team, with assumptions that there will be some type of Joe Gibbs Racing alliance as well. No details on the contract terms are announced in regards to sponsorship or the length of announced driver Darrell Wallace Jr.'s contract. 

Top 5 Moments in Talladega History

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This week we return to Earnhardt Country... Talladega. Since its first race in 1969 Talladega has been filled with memorable crashes, speeds, finishes, and images its crazy past is what brings us back every time. These are my Top 5 Talladega moments, and a few honorable mentions.  Honorable Mention  - 1987 Winston 500 A race weekend that changed NASCAR and Talladega forever. This was the race where Bill Elliott qualified with an average speed of 212.809 MPH, and had the "World's Fastest Race Car."  - 2013 Aaron's 499 The ICONIC Front Row Motorsports 1-2 finish. Talladega is home to the underdogs, and the 2013 Aaron's 499 was no different. A relatively new and underfunded team lead by David Ragan, and David Gilliland the two locked up and had an immaculate drive to the lead. This was an organization altering moment, and this finish perfectly encapsulates the underdog potential at Talladega.  THE LIST 5. 2009 Aaron's 499 "Brad Keselowski has won this race,...

Loganity: Michael Jordan in NASCAR Is Anything But a Slam-Dunk

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           (Photo Source : Twitter.com/SportsCenter)           Last week it was officially announced that Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin would be buying the charter from Germain Racing and that Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr would be driving for the new team next season. It’s a move that puts an end to only some of the speculation that has run rampant in this unprecedented silly season. There had been rumors cropping up the past few months that this could happen, but, I must admit that until Wallace announced that he would be leaving Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of the season I didn’t give much credence to those rumors. Now that it’s official there’s been plenty of speculation what kind of success the trio will have. It’s exciting news for NASCAR, and you simply can’t overstate what kind of positive impact Michael Jordan and all that comes with him could have on the world of NASCAR. Jordan is arguably the greatest bas...

DEVELOPING - Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan to Purchase Germain Racing

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Denny Hamlin confirmed rumors that he and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan are indeed going to operate a single-car NASCAR Cup Entry beginning in the 2021 season. The announcement came late Monday night via Denny's Twitter feed. This comes after their mutual purchase of Germain Racing. Jordan will be listed as the principal owner.  The two famed athletes have been friends for many years and Denny mentioned his relationship with the Jordan Brand as well in tonight's announcement. Their driver has been announced to be Darrell (Bubba) Wallace Jr. Further details regarding the purchase, sponsors, team name, and number were not mentioned. It will operate under the Toyota banner in conjunction with Denny and Joe Gibbs Racing's ongoing relationship with TRD. Denny states that he continues to be focused on his #11 FedEx Toyota in regards to his career as a driver. No comment from Michael Jordan at this time.  Darrell Wallace on Twitter posted : "This is a unique, once-in-a-li...

Loganity: Why RPM Deserves Better and Who Could Be Next To Drive For "The King"

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    (Photo Source : Twitter.com/BubbaWallace)                 Last week Darrell Wallace Jr announced his decision to leave Richard Petty Motorsports at the conclusion of the 2020 season. It was a decision that many weren't surprised by but to an RPM fan like myself, it left a bitter feeling and made us question Bubba’s loyalty.  I know many of you will say It’s a business and there isn’t much room for loyalty and typically I’d agree. in this case, I feel it runs deeper. The 2020 season has been the most unique in NASCAR’s history. Along with the rest of the world, they have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve also dealt with trying to address racial inequality. While that has been a challenge for all sports, you could easily argue that NASCAR has had the toughest time balancing being more inclusive without alienating old school fans. At the center of that movement in NASCAR has been Wallace. He is the sport...

BREAKING - Darrell Wallace Jr. will not return to the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports entry in 2021

 Reported first by Jordan Bianchi of the Athletic, it has been announced that Darrell Wallace Jr. will not be returning to the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Entry. He notified the team of this news earlier in the week. Wallace's name has been listed as one of the biggest pieces to the silly season puzzle, and widespread news that he has at very least had meetings with Chip Ganassi Racing while looking at different job opportunities for next season.  Wallace is the only African American driver to have completed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series in more than one full season. Still winless, he has 3 top-5 finishes in 103 starts.  Visit RacingRefresh.com  for more updates and other racing news.