Even though Darrell Wallace Jr. drove for Kyle Busch’s trucks team for two years, he didn’t bite his tongue when asked about the 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion’s recent controversial comments.
Wallace told reporters Wednesday that Busch suggesting it’s “stupid” for NASCAR to promote young drivers more so than veterans is in and of itself “stupid,” according to Motorsport.com. The Richard Petty Motorsports driver noted that Busch had no problem with NASCAR’s youth-centric promotion when it focused on him.
“I love Kyle to death, but, damn dude, c’mon,” Wallace said. “I don’t know how old he is. What is he? 32? Damn, he’s that old? Getting up there, bud. He was in the same spot we were. They had the ‘Gillette Young Guns’ back then. He’s still got the baby face now. So, I’m not really sure what he’s trying to say.”
The 24-year-old’s comment came shortly after Wallace’s good friend Ryan Blaney similarly took aim at Busch’s criticism.
The Team Penske driver said NASCAR’s lack of interest in pushing Busch actually is his own doing, as he doesn’t like to participate in promotional activities in his free time. Wallace too is aware of that fact, and because any publicity generated by a driver benefits the whole sport, he suggested Busch actually should be thanking NASCAR’s rising stars for doing the heavy lifting.
“And I wouldn’t really call it dirty work,” Wallace said. “Some of it is fun. We like doing that. I don’t have the M&Ms sponsor to carry me full-time.”
Although Wallace was forced to think outside the box when searching for sponsors in 2017, in doing so he’s allowed his personality to shine through. As a result, sponsors such as the Air Force know they can capitalize on his sense of humor to promote their partnerships with RPM.
