Wallace earns milestone win
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Bubba Wallace became just the second Black driver to win at NASCAR’s top Cup Series level when rain stopped Monday’s playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Wallace had driven through a crash and to the front of the field five laps before the second rain stoppage of the race. NASCAR tried to dry the track for nearly 45 minutes, but called things off as sunset approached and the rain showing no sign of ceasing.
Wallace had been waiting atop his pit stand celebrated wildly with his crew when the race was called. Wallace is in his first season driving for 23X1 Racing, a team owned by both Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan.
Wallace broke down in tears after he’returned to his parked No. 23 Toyota. The car number was picked for co-owner Jordan, who wore 23 in the NBA.
“This is for all the kids out there that want to have an opportunity and whatever they want to achieve, and be the best at what they want to do,” Wallace said as he choked back tears. “You’re going to go through a lot of (BS). But you always got to stick true to your path and not let the nonsense get to you.
“Stay strong. Stay humble. Stay hungry. Been plenty of times when I wanted to give up.”
Wallace is the first Black driver to win at the Cup level since Wendell Scott in 1963 — a race where he wasn’t declared the victor for several months. NASCAR presented Scott’s family with his trophy just two months ago.
In June 2020 at Talladega, NASCAR discovered a noose in the garage stall assigned to Wallace. The finding came just a week after NASCAR had banned the Confederate flag at its events at Wallace’s urging.
The FBI investigated and found that the noose was tied at the end of the garage door pull and had been there for months, meaning Wallace wasn’t a victim of a hate crime. The entire industry rallied around him, though, and stood in solidarity with Wallace at his car at the front of the grid before the race.
Wallace has called the noose incident a low point in his life. He’s been subjected to nonstop online harassment that last year even included a tweet from then-President Donald Trump that falsely accused Wallace of making up the noose.
Wallace never saw the noose and was only told about it by NASCAR President Steve Phelps after the FBI had already been summoned to investigate. He said he never thought about the significance of earning his first career Cup race at the same track in his native Alabama; he was born in Mobile.
“When you say it like that, it obviously brings a lot of emotion, a lot of joy to my family, fans, my friends. It’s pretty cool,” he said.
Wallace’s win was his first in 142 career Cup starts, though he had six victories in the Truck Series from 2013 through 2015.
No playoff drivers won a race at Talladega this weekend and only Denny Hamlin is already locked into the third round of the playoffs headed into next week’s elimination race at Charlotte, North Carolina.