Bubba Wallace becomes 1st Black driver to win NASCAR Cup Series since 1963
Updated: 3:17 AM EDT Oct 5, 2021
SOLEDAD: BUBBA WALLACE IGNITED A CULTURE SHIFT IN NASCAR WHEN HE PUSHED THE SPORT TO RETHINK IT TIES TO THE CONFEDERATE FLAG. IT BANNED THE FLAG AMID NATIONWIDE PROTESTS AGAINST RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND POLICE BRUTALITY. WHILE WALLACE WON THE SUPPORT OF MANY FELLOW DRIVERS, NOT ALL OF THE SPORT'S FANS WENT ALONG. AND RECENTLY WHEN BILL LESTER MADE HIS RETURN TO THE SPORT, HE WAS APPARENTLY BOOED. SOMETHING LESTER SAID HAPPENED OFTEN AS ONE OF THE FEW BLACK DRIVERS IN THE SPORT RAISING THIS QUESTION -- CAN NASCAR KEEP UP WITH SOCIAL CHANGE? OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT JOIE CHEN REPORTS. JOIE: ON THE SPEEDWAY, SOMEONE TAGGED HIM "THE YOUNGSTER." AND THOUSAND HE'S NOW IN HIS EIGHTH SEASON WITH PLENTY OF PODIUM FINISHES -- THE NICKNAME STUCK. BLAKE: I'M BLAKE LOTHIAN. I'M A NASCAR DRIVER DIVERSITY DRIVER WITH THE REV RACING AND I DRIVE THE NUMBER 16 CAR FOR A.K. PERFORMANCE. JOIE: HE'S TRYING TO SET THE PACE IN NASCAR'S DRIVE FOR DIVERSITY CAMPAIGN. A DECADE-LONG EFFORT THAT'S SO FAR PRODUCED ONLY THE SECOND TOP TIER RACER IN NASCAR'S 72-YEAR HISTORY -- BUBBA WALLACE. IN A SPORT THAT JUST THIS SUMMER BANNED DISPLAYS OF THE CONFEDERATE FLAG WITH A FAN BASE THAT'S NEARLY 80% WHITE, DRIVERS LIKE LOTHIAN COULD BE KEY TO STEERING NEW FANS TO NASCAR. IS THERE REALLY A PLACE FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS TO SUCCEED, TO BE STARS IN THE SPORT? BLAKE: OF COURSE, I BELIEVE THERE DEFINITELY IS. I MEAN, THE STATISTICS DON'T LOOK AMAZING. I SAY THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY. JOIE: THE ROAD TO NASCAR'S PREMIERE CUP SERIES IS A LONG ONE. LIKE MANY OF HIS PEERS, LOTHIAN STARTED WITH GO-KARTS. BY 10 HE'D REACHED THE FIRST RUNGS OF JUNIOR RACING. NOW BARELY 18, HE'S DRIVING TOWARD A FUTURE AS A PRO. THIS IS YOUR BABY? BLAKE: OH, YEAH. JOIE: THIS SEASON, LOTHIAN'S DRIVING A LEGENDS CAR, AT THE HIGH END OF THE SEMI PRO RANKS. BLAKE: SHE HELPED ME GET ONE TOP THREE THIS YEAR. TWO TOP FIVES. JOIE: THOUGH THE A.K. GARAGE STARTS DRIVERS AS YOUNG AS 8. A FORMER RACER HIMSELF, KENDALL SELLER WARNS DRIVERS THAT THE ODDS ARE NEARLY ALWAYS AGAINST THEM. KENDALL: WHEN YOU PLAY BASEBALL, FOOTBALL, ANYTHING LIKE THAT, YOU HAVE A 50% CHANCE OF WINNING EVERY TIME YOU GO OUT THERE. WHEN YOU'RE RACING, YOU'RE ONE PERSON AGAINST 25. SO THE PERCENTAGES ARE WAY DOWN AND IT'S THE MOST UNREWARDING SPORT OUT THERE. JOIE: THE CHALLENGES DON'T END THERE. CAR RACING IS, OBVIOUSLY, DANGEROUS. 70 MILES AN HOUR, HE CAME IN YOUR DOOR. BLAKE RIGHT HERE. JOIE: THE GRAVEYRD SITS IN TALL WEEDS BEHIND THE GARAGE. BLAKE: I WAS RIGHT THERE. JOIE: COVERING THE REMAINS OF THE CAR LOTHIAN WAS DRIVING AT THE ANDERSON MOTOR SPEEDWAY LAST YEAR. BLAKE: I HONESTLY THOUGHT I DIED WHEN I GOT HIT. IT WAS SO SCARY, JUST BEING STUCK THERE. LIKE THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO. I JUST HAVE MY ARMS UP LIKE THIS, JUST PREPARING FOR THE HIT BECAUSE I SAW THE GUY COMING RIGHT AT ME. THEN AFTER I GOT HIT, I OPENED MY EYES AND I JUST SAW FIRE FROM THE OTHER GUY THAT HIT ME. HIS CAR WAS JUST COMPLETELY ENGULFED IN FLAMES JOIE: FAMILIES MUST STEEL THEIR NERVES AND OPEN THEIR WALLETS FOR AN EXPENSIVE JOURNEY. A TRAINING GO-KART AT LOTHIAN'S LEVEL CAN RUN SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS. EVEN WITH A SPONSORED CAR, YOUNG DRIVERS CAN EASILY RUN UP GEAR, TRAVEL, AND REPAIR TABS INTO SIX FIGURES. BUT THE BIGGEST BARRIER TO LAUNCHING A YOUNG DRIVER MAY BE GETTING IN THEIR HEADS. PHIL: FIRST OF ALL, YOU HAVE TO CONVINCE THE DRIVERS THAT THEY'RE ATHLETES. JOIE: COACH PHIL HORTON TRAINS THE REV RACING DRIVERS AND YOUNG PIT CREWS TO MUSCLE UP TO THE INTENSITY OF MOTORSPORT. PHIL: WHAT YOU'RE DOING FOR 3 1/2 HOURS, YOU KNOW, IN 130-DEGREE CAR, AND YOU'RE -- YOU'RE IN TRAFFIC, YOU KNOW, GOING 200 MILES AN HOUR, YOU KNOW, YOUR HAND-EYE COORDINATION HAS TO BE SUPERB. YOUR STAMINA, YOUR ABILITY TO DEAL WITH THE HEAT. AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS COME UNDER THE ATHLETIC REALM IN AN -- OF BEING AN ATHLETE. JOIE: HORTON SAYS NASCAR'S RECENT EFFORTS TO BUILD INCLUSION HAVE HELPED BUT THE STORIES OF THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN RACERS, DRIVERS LIKE CHARLIE WIGGINS, WHO DEFIED DISCRIMINATION ON THE TRACK AND OFF, SHOULD REALLY INSPIRE YOUNG DRIVERS TO PUSH THE LIMITS. PHIL: WE TRY TO INGRAIN IN THEM THAT MOTORSPORTS IS IN THEIR BLOOD, AND THAT THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THEY'RE BREAKING INTO, SOMETHING THAT'S NOT A PART OF THEM. JOIE: STILL, FOR LOTHIAN, AND NASCAR, MAKING INROADS WITH NEW FANS WILL LIKELY MEAN FACING SOME HARD BUMPS IN THE FUTURE. BOTH ARE FOCUSED ON THE ROAD AHEAD. FOR "MATTER OF FACT," I'M JOIE
Bubba Wallace made history Monday, becoming just the second Black driver to win NASCAR's Cup Series race, the association's top series.Wallace is the first Black person to win the Cup Series since 1963, when NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Wendell Scott led the race."Talladega, we're winners," Wallace said in a video posted on the Twitter account of Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway, where the race took place. "What a perfect weekend, or weekday, I should say. I just knew something about it."Wallace was born in Alabama. And last year at the same track, he found a noose in his garage stall, prompting an FBI hate-crime investigation.Just after the race, Wallace thanked his team and the owners, sports legend Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, for the opportunity."It's pretty fitting that it comes here in Talladega," he said.The FBI determined Wallace was not a victim of a hate crime, since the noose had been in the garage since at least 2019. But Wallace later said during an interview with CNN's Don Lemon that that was beside the point."It was a noose," Wallace said. "Whether tied in 2019 or whatever, it was a noose. So, it wasn't directed at me but somebody tied a noose. That's what I'm saying."Asked on Monday what it meant to become the second Black driver to win the Cup Series race, Wallace became emotional."I never think about those things, and when you, when you say it like that, honestly it brings a lot of emotion, a lot of joy, to my family, fans, friends. It's pretty damn cool."This was Wallace's first year driving for 23XI Racing. The victory is also the first for Jordan as an owner.
Bubba Wallace made history Monday, becoming just the second Black driver to win NASCAR's Cup Series race, the association's top series.
Wallace is the first Black person to win the Cup Series since 1963, when NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Wendell Scott led the race.
"Talladega, we're winners," Wallace said in a video posted on the Twitter account of Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway, where the race took place. "What a perfect weekend, or weekday, I should say. I just knew something about it."
Wallace was born in Alabama. And last year at the same track, he found a noose in his garage stall, prompting an FBI hate-crime investigation.
Just after the race, Wallace thanked his team and the owners, sports legend Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, for the opportunity.
"It's pretty fitting that it comes here in Talladega," he said.
The FBI determined Wallace was not a victim of a hate crime, since the noose had been in the garage since at least 2019. But Wallace later said during an interview with CNN's Don Lemon that that was beside the point.
"It was a noose," Wallace said. "Whether tied in 2019 or whatever, it was a noose. So, it wasn't directed at me but somebody tied a noose. That's what I'm saying."
Asked on Monday what it meant to become the second Black driver to win the Cup Series race, Wallace became emotional.
"I never think about those things, and when you, when you say it like that, honestly it brings a lot of emotion, a lot of joy, to my family, fans, friends. It's pretty damn cool."
This was Wallace's first year driving for 23XI Racing. The victory is also the first for Jordan as an owner.
