{"id":20006,"date":"2018-07-06T16:16:34","date_gmt":"2018-07-06T21:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=20006"},"modified":"2018-07-06T16:17:27","modified_gmt":"2018-07-06T21:17:27","slug":"bubba-wallace-returns-to-site-of-emotional-daytona-500-finish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/06\/bubba-wallace-returns-to-site-of-emotional-daytona-500-finish\/","title":{"rendered":"Bubba Wallace returns to site of emotional Daytona 500 finish"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

There have been the inevitable ups and downs during Bubba Wallace\u2019s<\/strong> rookie campaign in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series<\/a>, but the unquestioned high came when the 24-year-old opened the season by finishing runner-up in the Daytona 500<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Bubba Wallace, driver of the #43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet, stands by his car during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 5, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Afterward, Wallace gave an emotional press conference where he shared a long embrace with his mother, who joined him on the dais, then a heartfelt thanks to those who had supported him in the long journey to reach NASCAR\u2019s premier division. In many aspects Wallace\u2019s surprising result on the track and him breaking down off it ended up overshadowing Austin Dillon\u2019s win.<\/p>\n

Ever since, Wallace has turned in the typical rookie season that\u2019s been mixed with good and bad. There was an eighth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway, followed a week later by a strong effort at Bristol Motor Speedway where he worked his way toward the front then passed Brad Keselowski for the lead under green flag conditions.<\/p>\n

There have, however, also been bouts of inconsistency and assorted rookie mistakes. Wallace has finished on the lead lap just four times, 25th or worse seven times, and his average finish ranks 24th of the 31 drivers who\u2019ve started all 17 races this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back (on the Daytona 500), it was pretty much a week and a half of great things that happened for us,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cThe weeks you hope it to happen now and you don\u2019t really get that. There are usually some bumps in the road that you hit.\u201d<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DIS2_MENCS_BubbaWallace_070518.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Wallace joined Richard Petty Motorsports team amidst a rebuild. The team switched manufacturers from Ford to Chevrolet over the offseason, in addition to relocating shops and entering into a new alliance with Richard Childress Racing. A significant overhaul that Wallace admits has taken its toll.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we had an exact clue as to what to expect with everything that went on during the offseason — team change, manufacturer change, alliance and everything that kind of goes together for a satellite team,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cWe were starting over. It was like a rebranding for Richard Petty Motorsports and a rebuild mode for the whole team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we would have some bad weekends, and unfortunately our bad weekends are 25th, I think before, our bad weekends were 20th. So, we have kind of lost a little bit there.\u201d<\/p>\n

RPM\u2019s overhaul isn\u2019t made easier by the fact it is considered a midsize organization, lacking the budget and resources that some of NASCAR\u2019s upper echelon organizations possess.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeams that can spend millions and millions of dollars are going to be the ones winning,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cWe are spending thousands of dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wallace and RPM are presented with a better chance to compete with Cup\u2019s top team on a more even plane as NASCAR\u2019s returns to Daytona International Speedway this weekend for the annual Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Whether that manifests into another finish like the one in February remains to be seen, though the odds are certainly improved here than most other elsewhere.<\/p>\n

And should he improve upon where he finished in the Daytona 500 and win Saturday night, Wallace offers a bit of advice for those watching.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s still a dream to go out and win in NASCAR,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cThere\u2019s no other greater opportunity than this weekend, so whatever emotions come after that, have your recorders and video cameras ready.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR Wire Service There have been the inevitable ups and downs during Bubba Wallace\u2019s rookie campaign in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, but the unquestioned high came when the 24-year-old opened the season by finishing runner-up in the Daytona 500. Afterward, Wallace gave an emotional press conference where he shared a long<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":19991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[414,287,16],"class_list":["post-20006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-bubba-wallace","tag-daytona-international-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-5cG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23343,"url":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/14\/bubba-wallace-returns-to-daytona-for-another-shot-at-the-great-american-race\/","url_meta":{"origin":20006,"position":0},"title":"Bubba Wallace returns to Daytona for another shot at The Great American Race","author":"racedaysaeditor","date":"February 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"By Holly Cain,\u00a0NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Bubba Wallace made his first trip \u2013 ever - to Disney World this week visiting the amusement park - located an hour and a half south of Daytona Beach - with his good buddy and fellow Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "NASCAR"","block_context":{"text":"NASCAR","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/category\/nascar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/360072.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/360072.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/360072.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/360072.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/360072.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14805,"url":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/02\/18\/nascar-race-preview-daytona-500\/","url_meta":{"origin":20006,"position":1},"title":"NASCAR race preview: Daytona 500","author":"Mike Haag","date":"February 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"News, notes and photos courtesy of NASCAR \u00a0 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Next Race (Non-Points): Can-Am Duel At Daytona The Place: Daytona International Speedway The Date: Thursday, Feb. 15 The Time: 7 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 5:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Distance: Two races, each 150\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Trackside"","block_context":{"text":"Trackside","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/category\/raceday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/DIS_MENCS_Jimmie_Johnson4_021018-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C874&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/DIS_MENCS_Jimmie_Johnson4_021018-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C874&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/DIS_MENCS_Jimmie_Johnson4_021018-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C874&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/DIS_MENCS_Jimmie_Johnson4_021018-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C874&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/DIS_MENCS_Jimmie_Johnson4_021018-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C874&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19987,"url":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/05\/nascar-thursday-daytona-notebook\/","url_meta":{"origin":20006,"position":2},"title":"NASCAR: Thursday Daytona Notebook","author":"racedaysaeditor","date":"July 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By Reid Spencer,\u00a0NASCAR Wire Service \u00a0 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hopes to seize best opportunity at Daytona DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a realist. 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