Bubba Wallace breaks through with first Cup Series win at Talladega
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Bubba Wallace has heard the doubts the past few years as he has raced and raced and raced without winning in the NASCAR Cup Series.
He has especially heard them at Talladega, the place where FBI detectives investigated in June 2020 after a pull-down rope formed into a noose was found in his garage stall. It was later determined that rope had been there during the previous event and had not been targeted toward the sport’s only Black full-time driver in a national series.
And he certainly knows NASCAR history. Going into the NASCAR Cup Series event Monday at Talladega Superspeedway, the last time a Black driver had won on the circuit was December 1963, when Wendell Scott won in Jacksonville 21,129 days ago.
All of those doubters, all of the haters, all of the "can he really do it?" questions have now been answered.
Wallace captured the YellaWood 500 Monday, as he was leading when the caution came out for an accident, and then the rain started to fall on Lap 117, eventually ending the race with Wallace declared the winner in his 143rd career Cup start.
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"This is for all those kids out there that want to have an opportunity at whatever they want to achieve and be the best at what they want to do," the 27-year-old Wallace said moments after being declared the winner. "You’re going to go through a lot of bulls---, but you always have to stay true to your path and not let the nonsense get to you.
"Stay strong, stay humble, stay hungry. There have been plenty of times that I wanted to give up, but you surround yourselves with the right people, and it’s moments like this that you appreciate."
The victory was the first for 23XI Racing, co-owned by NBA icon Michael Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin. They hired Wallace because they believed in him, and they have surrounded him with sponsors who have committed to diversity in the sport.
"There's something about it's Talladega, his home state, everything that happened at Talladega last year, things that Bubba didn't ask to happen, but he had to go through it," Hamlin said. "[There was] a lot of the pushback, things that happened afterward in the aftermath."
What has happened over the past 16 months is Wallace advocating for social justice — he was successful in lobbying NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag a couple of weeks prior to the noose incident — on a variety of national media outlets. He also has been the recipient of nasty comments on social media and receiving boos that drowned out the cheers during driver introductions at several tracks.
He went from a driver fans could relate to, after he talked openly about living with depression, to a divisive one after his advocacy.
"There’s been some tough times for him, for sure," said his best friend, Ryan Blaney. "It’s just all the stuff he gets hassled about from closed-minded people and ignorant people and things like that. He’s got to deal with a lot of that, and I don’t think a lot of people really see that, and he has to deal with it.
"He’s a person, and a lot of things that are said to him sometimes, whether it’s social media or whatnot, can be hurtful and can stick on your mind. He does a good job blocking it out, but no one can block all that out."
How does he block it out? Wallace, who recently became engaged to girlfriend Amanda Carter, said it has taken several people. Also, he has gotten off social media the past few months, as he said he started having "dark thoughts" after interactions with those critical of him.
"Some sleepless nights, talking to professionals to help me stay focused on the task at hand, really listening to my family," Wallace said. "Amanda being there pushing me. I go into some of these races, and I have a negative attitude, and she rips me an ass to get in shape and to show up with some positivity."
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Part of the negativity came from the fact that he had not won a NASCAR national series race since 2017. He has six career victories in NASCAR’s truck series but was 0-for-86 in NASCAR’s "triple-A" Xfinity Series and 0-for-143 in Cup prior to Monday.
"I was one of those people that was telling myself I haven’t won," Wallace said. "It was tough to get out of that mentality … I know now it's, ‘Well, he’s got a win because it rained.’
"Well, everybody knew it was going to rain. We were able to make a move to keep us out front, and the caution fell at the right time. I appreciate everybody that’s been in my camp to help me stay focused on the things that matter and eliminate the B.S. that I have to deal with on a daily basis."
Wallace probably will have an easier time blocking out the noise generated by this win: The naysayers claiming NASCAR wanted him to win and called the race. The rain continued to fall, and the race was ruled official because it got past the halfway point. The rain ultimately lasted more than an hour, so NASCAR would have had no time to dry the track before sundown at the 2.66-mile facility, which has no lights.
Still, that might not stop some from ridiculing the result or Wallace himself. But he shouldn’t care. This wasn’t a situation in which he stayed out when everyone pitted and mixed it up with the leaders during the race.
"People just have a microscope on him because they want to be critical," Hamlin said. "They just are a hater. That's all you can really say about it. I try to say to him, ‘Don't get your motivation trying to prove haters wrong. Instead, get your motivation from trying to do the people that support you proud.’
"That's where the motivation is going to come from, is the people that are going to support you through the good times and the bad times."
Fifteen laps before the rain, Wallace was 22nd, and he worked his way to the front amid the threat of inclement weather. He did what every driver was trying to do. He was the most successful.
"It’s not redemption — he doesn’t have anything to redeem himself from," Blaney said. "It’s great he was able to break through and get his first win and do it in a cool style — drive up through the field and put it to them."
Wallace had a feeling it could happen at Talladega, the type of track at which he has run well throughout his career. It is not a place he dislikes visiting, despite the history and the boos.
It’s a place that brings out emotion in people, thanks to its vast reach, high speeds and drama. Some love it. Some hate it. Wallace can relate.
"It doesn’t matter if I won by a thousand laps or won a rain-shortened, not everybody is going to be happy with it," Wallace said. "And that’s OK because I know one person who is happy, and that’s me.
"Because I’m a winner, and they’re not."
Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!
