Wallace Jr. Scores Sixth Place Finish, Despite Sickness

LAS VEGAS, N.v.— Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. had an interesting day on Saturday in the Boyd Gaming 300 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Wallace Jr. battled flu-like symptoms throughout the weekend, but continued to persevere  through the race.

If it wasn’t for pre-race interviews, fans would have been unable to tell that the No. 6 Leidos Ford driver was battling those symptoms.

Wallace Jr. started from the 16th position, but quickly charged towards the front.

Wallace Jr. was battling a free handling car that hit the wall a couple of times, but that did not stop the Ford Mustang from running in the top-10. Wallace Jr. was able to gain two championship points in the opening stage of the Boyd Gaming 300.

After making a pit stop during the stage “break”, Wallace Jr. maintained a run in the top-10.  The caution flew in the closing laps of the second stage, which shuffled the running order, but Wallace Jr. remained in the top-10 to earn one championship point by finishing in the 10th position in the second stage.

After the pit-stops that saw numerous drivers stay out for better track position and save tires for later in the race. Wallace Jr. was shuffled back to 17th, but rebounded quickly marching his way into the top-10 in just eight laps ultimately reaching the fourth position before a cycle of green flag pit stops. Wallace Jr. cycled back to the fifth position after all the drivers pitted.

On the second to last restart, Wallace Jr. was shuffled back to eighth, but utilized a late race restart to take the field three-wide and score a sixth place finish.

This was Wallace Jr.’s second top-six finish in a row.

These early races for Wallace Jr. are crucial for him as he is battling the fight to find sponsorship to run the full NASCAR Xfinity Series season in 2017. Despite the lack of sponsorship for 2017, Wallace Jr. remains optimistic that he will find sponsorship beyond the six races he has with Leidos, who upped their sponsorship this season.

Wallace Jr. currently sits fifth in the points standings only 29 points away from points leader, Elliott Sadler.

Caleb Whisler
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