NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace will be leaving Richard Petty Motorsports after the 2020 season, he revealed on social media Thursday.
” This was not a simple decision as I have absolutely nothing but the utmost regard for Richard Petty and his household, but I think its time for another person to take over the reins of the No. 43,” Wallace said in a Twitter post.
” Thank you to the King and everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports for offering me the opportunity to begin my Cup Series profession. Ive grown even a motorist and as a person considering that joining them. Weve got nine more races together, and I hope we can complete the 2020 season on a high note.”
Wallace has yet to win a Cup race throughout his 3 seasons driving for Petty. He has a career-best five top-10 surfaces this season and is ranked 23rd in the Cup standings, likewise a profession best.
If he left RPM, he has signed a number of sponsorship offers that have been negotiated in a way that Wallace might take them with him. Among his new partners are Door Dash, Columbia Sportswear Co., Cash App, and a personal offer with Beats by Dre. Hes likewise got an affiliation with McDonalds, among the sponsors at Chip Ganassi Racing.
Bubba Wallace, who has a career-best 5 top-10 surfaces this season and is ranked 23rd in the Cup standings, will be driving for another team in 2021 after saying he will leave Richard Petty Motorsports after this season. Because a number of significant NASCAR teams with seats readily available informed The Associated Press they were not in play for the chauffeur, ap Photo/Matt SlocumIts not clear where Wallace is headed. Wallaces agent did not return an ask for remark from The Associated Press.
Wallace, the lone Black driver competing complete time in NASCAR at the nationwide series level, has gotten nationwide attention over the past several months as an activist, leading discussion amongst his peers about racial equality.
He was in the nationwide spotlight in June, when he said during an interview with CNN that NASCAR need to ban the Confederate flag from all of its tracks. Two days later, NASCAR enacted a restriction, stating the flag at its events “runs contrary to our commitment to supplying a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our market.”
Weve got 9 more races together, and I hope we can end up the 2020 season on a high note.”
He has actually signed a number of sponsorship deals that have actually been negotiated in a method that Wallace could take them with him if he left RPM. AP Photo/Matt SlocumIts not clear where Wallace is headed due to the fact that numerous significant NASCAR teams with seats available told The Associated Press they were not in play for the chauffeur. Wallaces representative did not return a request for comment from The Associated Press.
He likewise remained in the spotlight after NASCAR announced that a noose had actually been discovered in his garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. A day after the race, NASCAR announced that the FBI had actually figured out that Wallace was not the victim of a hate crime and that a pull rope fashioned like a noose had actually been on the door of the garage he was designated to at Talladega considering that as early as October 2019, when the previous Cup Series race had actually been held at the track.
Richard Petty Motorsports stated it would complete the season with Wallace and announce its strategies for a new motorist at a later date. The group has actually had trouble landing sponsorship– one of the reasons the No. 43 has struggled to be competitive– and there has been speculation the team would be absorbed by a new owner.
” We look forward to the next chapter in the making for the renowned No. 43 team,” the team said in a declaration. “We will reveal our new driver in the future.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
