MADISON, Ill.— It’s been nearly a decade since Darrell Wallace Jr. won his first race at Worldwide Technology Raceway in his first start at the 1.25-mile oval.
Driving a Kyle Busch Motorsports Tundra, the driver nicknamed Bubba led 85 laps en route to his second-career NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series win.
Although he topped the tour among series regulars with four wins that season, Wallace finished his sophomore season third in the standings behind champion Matt Crafton and runner-up Ryan Blaney.
“Looking back on that, those are the days you miss,” Wallace said. “Even when you go back to the days you were a kid, you had no worries in the world. You would go outside and play with your friends and have fun.
“That’s kind of how truck racing was. We’d show up every weekend and when it started to click, it was fun. It was just fun to drive without all the obligations.”
Three years after the 2014 season, Wallace was offered his first NASCAR Cup opportunity.
“It’s crazy to think that was 10 years ago,” Wallace said of his Gateway victory. “I remember winning that race. Other than that, it’s hard to bring anything from that. Putting two and two together, you can get around here decent. But it takes more than being ‘decent’ at the Cup level.”
And Wallace is working hard to be better than decent.
On Sunday, he rolls off eighth in the Enjoy Illinois 300 behind the wheel of the No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota for 23XI Racing—his best qualifying effort at this track. Hopefully, he can improve on his Gateway finishes as well. In his previous two WWTR starts, Wallace’s average finish is 28th.
“We still have some things to figure out,” Wallace said. “But I feel like this is the best we’ve ever been here—unloaded off the truck. This McDonald’s team is working hard. We just have to work a little harder.”
Wallace’s foray into stock car racing’s top tour came behind the wheel of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford for the injured Aric Almirola. The young driver made enough of an impression in his four starts—improving his finish in each race—that RPM hired him as a replacement when Almirola moved to Stewart-Haas Racing.
When Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan founded 23XI Racing in 2021, Wallace returned to the Toyota camp. Thirty-one races into the season, Wallace scored his first Cup win at Talladega Superspeedway. The following year, Wallace won at Kansas Speedway. In 2023, he qualified for the Playoffs for the first time in his Cup career and finished 10th in the standings.
Wallace kicked off this season with consecutive top-five finishes in the Daytona 500 and at Atlanta Motor Speedway. His best result was fourth at Martinsville. While Wallace is still searching for his first victory in 2024, his average qualifying effort of 12.4 equals his career best from last season.
From where Wallace started to how far he has come is proof of his determination to succeed. No doubt there have been growing pains. But at 28, Wallace is married, expecting his first child, and settling into his fourth season at 23XI Racing.
And unlike the laidback days in the truck series, Wallace has to work at finding fun in Cup.
“When you get to the Cup level, you have to balance the obligations—to find that fun,” Wallace said. “That’s been the challenge inside itself, and I don’t think it gets any easier. You’re just thrown a different curve ball each and every year.
“But that’s part of the Cup level and that’s what makes it so competitive—and that’s why I enjoy competing.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
