YouTube download / NASCAR video / Rbubba Wallace gets emotional after his second place finish in the 2018 Daytona 500, his best finish to date as a driver for Richard Petty Motorsports, now in his third season.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Richard Petty Motorsports has confirmed that Bubba Wallace will not return as the driver of the No. 43 Chevrolet for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The surprising news was first reported by The Athletic.
RPM officials released a statement Thursday afternoon, stating in part, Wallace's decision to leave.
“Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace Jr., informed Richard Petty Motorsports he will not be returning for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) season,” RPM said in a prepared statement. “We will complete the season with Wallace behind the wheel of the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. We look forward to the next chapter in the making for the iconic No. 43 team. We will announce our new driver in the near future.”
Wallace, 26, who is in his third year with the Richard Petty-owned organization is 23rd in the Cup Series standings with five top-10 finishes — a career best for a single season, though he dod not make the playoffs.
“This was not an easy decision as I have nothing but the utmost respect for Richard Petty and his family, but I believe it’s time for someone else to take over the reins of the No. 43,” Wallace said in a statement released on his social media channels.
Wallace added, “Thank you to the King and everyone at Richard Petty Motorsports for giving me the opportunity to start my Cup Series career. I’ve grown so much as a driver and as a person since joining them. We’ve got nine more races together, and I hope we can finish the 2020 season on a high note.”
Wallace, who is Black, made national headlines earlier this year when he openly criticized the display of rebel flags at NASCAR's tracks at thew height of the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the George Floyd killing while in police custody in Minneapolis, leading to NASCAR banning the flags at all its tracks. Wallace's stand drew the ire of President Donald Trump.
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Henry Frederick is publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched 12 years ago that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed more than a hundred journalism industry awards in print & online -- more than all other members of the working press combined in Central Florida since the mid-1990s. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism with academic honors from Full Sail University in 2019. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary programs on Discovery ID and Reelz for his investigative reporting and cops & courts breaking news stories.