Bubba Wallace offered rare team ownership stake in extension talks with Richard Petty Motorsports
Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. became one of the most recognizable people in NASCAR, a predominantly white, male sport, when, in June, he called out racism and police brutality, got the sport to ban the Confederate Flag, supported the Black Lives Matter movement and ran a BLM paint scheme. He received support from those in the NASCAR industry, as well as the sports world in general, and became one of the few drivers to successfully transcend the sport.
Wallace, the only Black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, could potentially become a free agent at the end of the 2020 NASCAR season. But he has an offer on the table from his current team, Richard Petty Motorsports, which includes partial ownership of the No. 43 Chevrolet team, Forbes SportsMoney contributor David Smith reported Sunday.
Wallace’s contract with RPM is up at the end of the season, but team co-owner Andrew Murstein spoke to Forbes about its efforts to re-sign the 26-year-old, three-year Cup Series veteran because: “There’s a plethora of drivers. There is only one Bubba.”
“We’re in discussions with him about an extension that includes ownership in the team,” said Murstein, who expects an agreement to be finalized “within the next couple of weeks.”
Although details of NASCAR drivers’ contracts are seldom public — a stark contrast to other professional sports in the United States — a partial ownership offer is rare, particularly for a young driver without a Cup Series win yet. As Forbes SportsMoney noted, other drivers who had ownership stakes built into their contracts while still actively racing include Jeff Gordon with Hendrick Motorsports and Tony Stewart in what’s now Stewart-Haas Racing.
According to Smith’s Motorsports Analytics, Wallace’s estimated production value is $1.496 million, marking a 454 percent increase compared with the preseason and ranking him 13th among potential future free agents.
However, Wallace reportedly has options for his future beyond returning for a fourth full-time season (or more) with Richard Petty Motorsports.
As the Sports Business Journal‘s Adam Stern reported Friday, another possibility for Wallace could be taking over the No. 42 Chevrolet with Chip Ganassi Racing because he and the team both currently have sponsorship deals with McDonald’s.
The 2020 season started with Kyle Larson behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chevrolet, and he was expected to be the most coveted free agent this year. However, on a livestream during an iRacing event in April, Larson said the N-word and was promptly fired by Chip Ganassi Racing when his sponsors bailed.
Matt Kenseth came out of his soft retirement to take over the No. 42 car this year, but it’s unknown if the 2003 NASCAR champ will continue racing after the season ends.
Going into Sunday’s Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Wallace is 20th in the driver standings, which is four spots removed from the 16-driver cutoff for the 10-race playoffs starting in September.