The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Wallace emotional after milestone race
Darrell Wallace Jr. let the weight of his milestone in the Daytona 500 hit him when he saw mom. He sobbed as Desiree Wallace stepped onto the dais and wrapped her arms around her son for a hug neither wanted to end.
“You did that thing, baby,” she said, sobbing. “I’m so proud of you. I’ve waited so long, baby.”
Wallace’s runner-up finish to Austin Dillon in the Daytona 500 suddenly felt like a checkered flag.
“You’re acting like we just won the race,” he said, An emotional Darrell Wallace Jr. speaks to the media after finishing second in the Daytona 500..
laughing.
“We did win that race, baby. I love you. I’m so proud of you,” Desiree Wallace
said.
“Dangit, mom!” Wallace said.
His brief moment of levity gave way to an embrace with his sister Brittany, who as a child coined the “Bubba” nickname that has stuck to this day.
Wallace bawled some more into a towel before he finally composed himself.
“Pull it together, bud. Pull it together,” he told himself. “You just finished second. It’s awesome.”
Wallace carved a slice of NASCAR history Sunday night when he posted the best finish by a black driver in the Daytona 500. Wallace was the first black driver to start the Daytona 500 since Wendell Scott in 1969. Scott was 13th in the 1966 race, the previous best finish for a black driver at Daytona.