Bubba Wallace says being a ‘leader of changes’ in NASCAR is humbling, insists he isn’t an activist
Bubba Wallace is the poster boy of NASCAR’s inclusivity efforts.
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Bubba Wallace (Via IMAGO)
23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace is the sole racer of color in the premier stock car racing championship. In 2021, he became the first African American NASCAR driver to win a Cup race since Wendel Scott, and in 2022, with his Kansas win, he became the first and only multiple-race winner from a community.
Wallace has been the poster boy of NASCAR’s inclusion efforts and played a significant role in bringing a lot of cultural changes within a fan base that was stereotyped to be conservative. His role was significant in the ban of the Confederate flag from the race tracks. Being the leader bringing in this change to the sport has also helped NASCAR widen its fanbase, which has been a humbling experience for him.
Wallace, who now drives for Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing, pointed out that he isn’t an activist but someone who loves to race. But finding himself in that situation helped him to grow and as well as the people around him to grow; he says that he is proud of the social and economic changes he has been able to bring to the sport while also being part of building race teams up.
To have people believe in you, and to be a leader of change is humbling. I am no activist. I’m a person that just loves to race, and that’s about it. When you throw something else in front of my plate as big as that, it makes you realize who you are as a person, helps you grow, and the people around you grow. Been proud of the social and economic change that we’ve made inside of our sport and proud of just being able to build race teams up.
Bubba Wallace said via Mobile’s “Why We Race: Bubba Wallace”
Bubba Wallace had an impressive and humbling journey
While giving an overview of his career, he pointed out that he finds it a blessing to be racing in the Cup series. He hinted that his strong Truck series journey, losing the full-time Xfinity seat a couple of years later and then making a comeback, has been a great journey for him.
For me, racing is everything. You know where we're at now, at the pinnacle level of our sport, the Cup series. It's a blessing to be where we're at. I'm very honored to be able to do what I do. The steps that it took to get here it was a constant grind from racing every weekend to wondering if you're ever going to race again, to back in the seat full-time. It's been an interesting journey, and it's been a humbling one for sure
Bubba Wallace is now driving for Jordan and Denny Hamlin at the Cup series and is part of a team that is growing into one of the top teams in the garage. He had his best Cup[ season ever, with a P10 finish in the championship, and the team is only growing yearly. It is up to him to use the opportunities he gets wisely and achieve more on the track.
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Justin P Joy
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