WALLACE EMBRACES LEGACY, TARGETS RESULTS
Scott was last African American to win a Cup race
WELCOME, N.C. – There are two ways to look at Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr.’s upcoming season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. • One, he’s the next in line – and one of the youngest drivers – to attempt to lift Richard Petty Motorsports from mediocrity into the fast lane. • Two, he’s the first African-American driver in 45 years to attempt to run the full Cup series schedule. Therefore, he will be the first black driver to have a significant shot at winning a Cup race since the late Wendell Scott became the only one to visit a Cup victory lane in December 1963.
Both challenges are formidable, but Wallace, 24, seems ready. He has won six races in the Camping World Truck Series, scored six top-five finishes in Xfinity Series racing and performed well in four Cup races last year when he substituted at RPM for injured driver Aric Almirola. That “tryout” led Petty to put Wallace in the No. 43 this year after Almirola left the team to drive for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Following in the tire tracks of Scott, who raced against harsh discrimination in the 1960s, will earn Wallace a string of publicity as he attempts to put RPM’s cars (newly minted Camaros as the team switches from Fords) in the Cup playoffs. Even as he concentrates on lap times, pit stops and passing
points, he knows the social history aspect of this particular journey will be the dominant theme for many.
“For sure, I’m carrying that banner,” Wallace said. “What’s funny is that Wendell Junior (Scott’s son) called recently and left me a voicemail. He said that I shouldn’t feel like I need to carry the pressure of his dad and the Scott legacy, just to go out there and ‘do me.’
“A small part carries him with me, but I don’t put that in the forefront. For me, it’s just to go out and get through practice, qualifying and the race. If we end up with a top-five, then, hey, it’s ‘the first African American to do this’ or ‘the first African American to do that.’ I don’t really look at that stuff, but you can sit back after the race and say, ‘Damn, that was pretty cool.’ ”
Wallace got a hint of what’s to come this year in his four races last season. He made his first start subbing for Almirola at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in early June, and his arrival in the Cup series sparked a wave of media attention.
Crew chief Drew Blickensderfer remembers.
“When they told us last year that Bubba was going to drive the car, it was like, ‘OK, he’s that guy who wrecks every once in a while in the Xfinity Series and has won a couple of truck races,’ ” Blickensderfer said. “We know who he is, and he seems like a pretty cool kid.
“Then when we showed up at Po- cono, we realized what it was all about. It kind of gave you goosebumps to think about how special it was. We saw all the hoopla and everything that was going on around it, and we thought, this is something special and a little different than just the kid who’s going to drive a race car.”
Wallace keeps things in balance, though, Blickensderfer said.
“Bubba — he just handles it,” he said. “He does it remarkably well for a kid his age. He takes it in and goes about his business much better than most people would. When we get ready to fire engines for the Daytona 500, we’re going to be like he’s doing something really cool here. Until then, it’s kind of business as usual.”
Wallace, a native of Mobile, Ala., embraces the Scott legacy and his spotlighted role.
He has heard the N-word more than a few times during his rise in the sport, and social media channels often pulse with criticism about his place in racing. A Wisconsin high school golf coach was fired in November for posting disparaging tweets about Wallace.
“I’ve accepted that it’s always going to be talked about no matter what I do,” Wallace said. “I’ll be the first African American to take a piss in the Cup garage. Everything I do is a first. It’s going to be there. I’ve accepted it.
“It’s the fans who get so fired up over it. It’s like, ‘ Why do we have to mention it?’ Because no one is there (no other black drivers). So it’s going to be mentioned. It has to be mentioned, so just sit back, relax and enjoy the show.”