Wallace secures full-time RPM ride in 2018

Richard Petty Motorsports officially announced Darrell Wallace Jr. as the next driver of the No. 43.

Wallace will take over in 2018, replacing Aric Almirola. Running a full Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series campaign, the 24-year-old graduate of the NASCAR Diversity program and NASCAR Next will contend for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.

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"This is a dream come true to race for 'The King', Richard Petty Motorsports, the iconic No. 43 and for all the fans and partners that have and continue to support this team," Wallace said. "I believe in what Richard Petty Motorsports is doing and their desire to win races.

"I believe this team, its partners and fans are ready to see some great things again. I'm humbled that they have chosen me to take that next step with them. I'm ready for next season to begin and to prove to people that we can compete at the level we all expect to be at."

Welcome to the team,@BubbaWallace.#NASCAR#R43KIEpic.twitter.com/99RngthsL8— RPMotorsports (@RPMotorsports)October 25, 2017

Drew Blickensderfer will remain the team's crew chief. Sponsors for Wallace were not announced.

The move comes after Wallace got his shot in the Cup Series with RPM over the summer. At the time, Wallace was competing the Xfinity Series but was called upon to substitute for the injured Almirola. In four starts (Pocono, Michigan, Daytona and Kentucky), Wallace earned a 17.8 average finish and ended his tenure in the car with a career-best 11th-place finish at Kentucky.

"We have hired a lot of different drivers in the past, but Wallace brings a lot of youth and talent to our team," said Richard Petty. "He's proven at a young age to be able to be consistent on a weekly basis, give feedback to the team to help improve the car and race hard to get the best finish possible.

"He knows how to win, too. His records leading up to the top levels of NASCAR speak for themselves. We feel that Bubba can immediately come in and compete. He's really eager to show what he can do and that he belongs in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series."

In 2012, Wallace made his first NASCAR national series start in the Xfinity Series. The following year, he began competing full-time in the Camping World Truck Series where he made a name for himself scoring five wins in 44 starts. Wallace returned to the series this year with a one-off race at Michigan and went to Victory Lane.

In 85 Xfinity Series starts, Wallace has 35 top-10 finishes and six top-five finishes. After running full seasons in 2015 and 2016, Wallace was left without a ride after 13 races this year due to a lack of funding.

Petty was noncommital about the team's future with Ford, saying there would be future announcements on the team's manufacturer for 2018, along with its future race shop and plans for its two charters.

"We're doing one thing at a time," Petty said. "We decided to go ahead and get Bubba all signed up and get that behind us so that we can then sit down and say, OK, now what's our best move? Bubba will be a big part in that, too, because he's going to be a big, big part of RPM for the coming years. ... When you see us at Daytona it's going to be a completely different RPM than what it's been in the past. We're looking forward to that."