Darrell “Bubba” Wallace will join the lineup for Nickelodeon’s upcoming Tales of the Turtles 400 race weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, driving the No. 98 Nickelodeon Slime Ford in the NASCAR XFINITY race for Biagi DenBeste Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM).
Wallace competed in the RPM No. 43 Ford in four Monster Energy Series races this year filling in for the injured Aric Almirola, where he tallied two Top-15 finishes. Wallace found Victory Lane this season in the Camping World Truck Series at Michigan International Speedway in his first Truck Series race since 2014, giving the Alabama native six wins in his Truck Series career. A NASCAR XFINITY Series veteran, Wallace has 84 starts in the series and was on a roll of sixth-place finishes earlier this season in the No. 6 Ford.
“I’m really glad to get back behind the wheel of a race car,” said Wallace. “Chicago has always been a decent track for me where I’ve had some good finishes. I’m excited to get back in the XFINITY Series in a Ford Mustang. With the history with Biagi DenBeste Racing and RPM, we should have some good speed. It’s really cool to be pair with Nickelodeon. We’ve formed a great relationship over the past three years, and we’re able to do these one off races to attract the youth to the sport. With such a cool looking car this weekend, I think we’ll do just that.”
Nickelodeon is the entitlement sponsor of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, Sept. 17, dubbed the Tales of the Turtles 400. The track will feature a weekend of action, activities and fun for the entire family with the iconic Heroes in a Half Shell.
The 1.5-mile track will serve as the site of an epic weekend showcase for the new Tales of the Turtles TV season, which is titled Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because it consists of seven separate serialized stories. The featured drivers include:
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
- Matt DiBenedetto will carry the “Samurai” paint scheme on his Go Fas Racing Ford
- Jeffrey Earnhardt will have “BeBop” and “Rocksteady” on his Circle Sport Chevy
XFINITY Series
- Bubba Wallace will showcase “Nickelodeon Slime” on his Biagi DenBeste Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
- Matt Tiftt will have “Lone Rat and Cub” on his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Camping World Truck Series
- John Hunter Nemechek will have “Undead Shredder” on his NEMCO Motorsports Chevy
- Jennifer Jo Cobb will carry “Rebel Road” on her JJC Chevy
Greg Cipes, the actor who voices Michelangelo in Nickelodeon’s television hit Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, will participate in the weekend festivities, greet fans and serve as a pre-race dignitiary.
During the Tales of the Turtles 400 race weekend, enjoy fun family activities in Champions’ Park. The area will feature appearances from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costumed characters, a SpongeBob SquarePants display and more.
The Tales of the Turtle 400 trophy will be on display at the track throughout the weekend. The winning designers were chosen through the Good Day for Play art competition held this past summer. The attendees and celebrity judges ended in a tie, selecting Chicago street artists Tubsz and Max Sansing to co-design the trophy. Artist E. LEE will have his work featured on a trackside billboard.
Special fan merchandise is available for the Tales of the Turtles 400 event and features fun, bright colors and the race logo. A range of T-shirts and hats will be available for fans of all ages, including youth, toddler and adult sizes, as well as lanyards, magnets, can coolers and even a bib for the youngest “Dudes” and Turtle fans. The fan apparel and novelty items showcasing “Turtle Power” are available at the Fan Zone merchandise area and on the NASCAR.com Superstore.
This Sept. 14-17 marks the second partnership for Chicagoland Speedway and Nickelodeon, who last year partnered to bring fans the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 race which featured art created by renowned artist Hebru Brantley. This is the seventh consecutive year Chicagoland Speedway will kick off the Playoffs for the MONSTER Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
RPM PR
