Bubba Wallace: "We're here. We're a winner"
Bubba Wallace had been oh-so-close to a NASCAR Cup Series victory during his relatively brief career on a few occasions, but he also knew close wasn’t good enough.
Despite hearing boos and jeers at the track and receiving harassment online from those who don’t believe he belongs in NASCAR, Wallace has persevered.
It paid off handsomely on Monday when he won a rain-shortened race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway becoming just the second Black driver to win in the Cup Series in NASCAR history.
The only other came in 1963 with Wendell Scott’s victory in Jacksonville, Fla.
“I was one of those people that was telling myself that I haven’t won (yet). It’s tough to kind of get out of that mentality,” Wallace, 27, said. “It’s like, man, you just want to go out and compete and win. It just so happened today.
“I know now (it’s) Bubba won because it rained. Everybody knew it was going to rain. We knew we had to make a move to get out and the caution came at the right time.”
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing, Toyota Camry McDonald's and Kurt Busch, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet Camaro Monster Energy
Photo by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Images
Wallace has found his greatest success so far on NASCAR’s superspeedways, including his previous career-best finishes of second at Daytona in 2018 and earlier this year in August.
With the race past halfway Monday afternoon and potential rain swarming the track, drivers knew there was little time to waste.
Wallace powered to the lead on Lap 113 and used a well-timed block on Brad Keselowski to preserve his position just before what turned out to be the final caution on Lap 117. During the caution, it began raining again and NASCAR called the race official.
And Wallace instantly became a winner in the Cup Series.
“I just appreciate everybody that’s in my camp to help me stay focused on the things that matter and eliminate the ‘BS’ I have to deal with on a daily basis,” Wallace said.
“It’s moments like this where I can go back and thank and appreciate them because we’re here, we’re a winner, got some credibility to my name now.”
Being the only fulltime Black driver in the Cup Series has presented its own obstacles for Wallace but he took a big step into the public eye last season which brought a lot of attention, for better or worse.
Last June at Talladega, NASCAR discovered a noose in the garage stall assigned to Wallace’s Cup team at the time. The discovery came just a week after NASCAR had banned the Confederate flag from its tracks, a move that Wallace had championed.
Facing the negativity
The FBI investigated and found the noose had been in that stall for months and determined Wallace was not the target of a hate crime. While the NASCAR industry rallied around him then and since, he continues to receive many disparaging comments on social media ever since.
Asked how he has dealt with the pushback, Wallace said: “Some sleepless nights. Talking to professionals to help me stay focused on the task at hand. Really listening to my family. Amanda (his fiancée) being there pushing me.
“I go into some of these races and I just have a negative attitude. She rips me to get in shape and to show up with some positivity. It’s my family pushing me and knowing that as I’m being the realistic, sometimes pessimistic person, they hold the optimism for me and help me show back up at the race track with a good mindset.”
The win was a good building block for Wallace as well as his 23XI Racing team, which is in its first year of operation.
But the victory doesn’t change everything. The vitriol directed at Wallace following his win on social media serves as a reminder that he will have to continue his battle to overcome the negativity.
“I’m not going to be able to please everybody. Doesn’t matter if I won by a thousand laps or won a rain-shortened race, not everybody is going to be happy with it,” Wallace said.
“That’s okay because I know one person that is happy and that’s me because I’m a winner and they’re not."
Related video
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Former Le Mans class winner Joey Hand to make Cup debut
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes
Why NASCAR's most resilient driver has landed on his feet at 23XI
In a career that has had many ups and downs, Kurt Busch has been written off many times before. But facing career uncertainty after the sale of Chip Ganassi's NASCAR team, the 2004 Cup champion has found a new berth at Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan's 23XI organization - which underlines his enduring value
From the archive: Dale Earnhardt’s final Autosport interview
The death of Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500 shocked NASCAR to the core. At the Daytona 24 Hours, two weeks before his fatal accident, ‘The Intimidator’ shared his expectations of challenging for an eighth Cup title with JONATHAN INGRAM, in an article first published in the 15 February 2001 issue of Autosport magazine. Little did we know then what tragedy would unfold…
The lasting NASCAR legacy after Dale Earnhardt’s death
On February 18, 2001, seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Dale Earnhardt – the fearless ‘Intimidator’ – was in his element at Daytona International Speedway. While his own DEI team’s cars ran 1-2 towards the finish line, his famed #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo was playing rear gunner to block any late runs from the chasing pack. As the cars tore through Turns 3 and 4 on that fateful final lap, Earnhardt maintained the strongarm tactics that encapsulated his persona… but his actions in those moments sadly proved to be his last.
Inspired by Pitbull, the “revolution” sweeping through NASCAR
The NASCAR Cup Series is changing. Whether it be the gradual morphing out the seasoned drivers of yesterday as the next generation step up, a radical calendar shake-up featuring more road courses than ever before and the prospect of an all-new car on the horizon, stock car racing’s highest level is nearing the end of a huge facelift.
The NASCAR storylines to watch out for in 2021
This weekend's Daytona 500 kickstarts a NASCAR Cup season that promises plenty of intrigue courtesy of new owners and a refreshed calendar. Here's what you need to know ahead of the new season…
Why Kyle Larson can't blow his big shot at redemption
From a disgraced NASCAR exile, Kyle Larson has been given a chance of redemption by the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports squad. Effectively replacing seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is no easy billing, but Larson has every intention of repaying the team's faith...