[h=2]CRANDALL: NASCAR's tough transition[/h] Monday, 25 September 2017
By Kelly Crandall / Images by Harrelson, Kinrade, Moist/LAT
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Let's get reality out of the way: Darrell Wallace Jr. does not have the financial backing to be in a racecar.
Considering his status as perhaps the hottest free agent on the NASCAR circuit, I get why many continue to assume, comment or send emails about how he should get this or that ride. Wallace is likeable, young and talented, and has a unique charisma. Those are some of the most important ingredients for any team owner. There's also a solid fan following behind the 23-year-old Alabama native.
Yet a reminder shouldn't be necessary that in today's NASCAR, the marketability and talent of a driver oftentimes takes a backseat. In today's NASCAR, a driver must arrive not carrying a helmet, but a check. Wallace does not have that, which he admits is not a new problem.
"I haven't had a sponsor in 15 years that I've been racing," Wallace said recently. "I've been doing that [looking for partners] since day one, no matter what the team is. We're still trying to bring our own money."
As this season edges ever closer to its checkered flag, Wallace will continue to be brought up in the conversation and some have already – prematurely, in my opinion – put him in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Ford. Again: show me the money. In fact, show RPM the money, because they are in the same boat, having just lost Smithfield Foods.
But Wallace, Danica Patrick and even a former champion, Matt Kenseth, are the biggest names in the conversation when it comes to who will and won't be in the sport next year. NASCAR is amid a seismic shift of big names leaving in rapid succession, and sponsors are doing the same. The business model keeps evolving, the schedule will undergo a slight shift next season and even the sanctioning body's policies and procedures aren't untouchable. While younger, equally-talented drivers are filling the void, their effect on the sport is not going to be felt for a while to come.
For anyone who missed it, Jeff Gordon is gone. Tony Stewart quickly grabbed the closing door behind him. Greg Biffle was left without a quality ride after he split from Roush Fenway Racing last year, and then Carl Edwards woke up one day and decided he wanted to experience more in life than just driving race cars. Dale Earnhardt Jr. rides off into the sunset at season's end.
It's a lot to handle in such a short time, and it's only natural for there to be a desire to see drivers like Wallace become one of the next wave to carry the torch. Having already spent time in the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series, Wallace is hungry for a full-time shot in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and proved he deserves one after doing an admirable job filling in for the injured Aric Almirola over the summer.
Patrick's situation is no different, as she too doesn't have any funding. Losing longtime partner GoDaddy at the end of 2015 seems to have been the beginning of the end for her. And Kenseth? He's being replaced for a newer, shiner model at Joe Gibbs Racing, and Kenseth has been quiet about his future.
What has struck me in recent weeks is that as Wallace continues his fight to stay relevant and land a ride, both Patrick and Kenseth seem at peace with what could be next for them – which may very well be life away from racing.
I want Wallace and Patrick and Kenseth in the 2018 field as much as the next person. However, it would be smart to accept the possibility that Patrick and Kenseth could very well be competing in their final races and that Wallace may forever be walking around with his hand out.