Bubba Wallace won NASCAR’s playoff Cup race at Talladega to become the first Black driver in nearly 60 years to win a stock car racing’s top level.
Wendell Scott last won a Cup race in Jacksonville, Fla., in 1963.
Monday’s superspeedway event was red-flagged for rain with around 70 laps remaining and Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Toyota, in the lead.
The race was considered official after reaching the halfway point, and NASCAR called drivers to a stop when more rain hit the track following an earlier weather delay. Lightning in the area compounded the weather hold, and eventually NASCAR officials made the call to end the race early just before 4:30 p.m. ET with sunset a few hours off and major track-drying efforts required.
Wallace watched atop his team’s pit box, then hugged his teammates as 23XI crew members cheered from below upon receiving the news. The 27-year-old driver won his first race in the Cup Series in 143 starts and his first race with the Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin co-owned team, 23XI Racing, which is in its first year in the series.
Wallace said he called his fiance, Amanda Carter, and his mother, Desiree Wallace, while he walked to Victory Lane. Fellow Cup drivers and competitors Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson approached Wallace separately to congratulate him on the win. He teared up during his first interview on NBCSN as a Cup Series winner.
“It obviously brings a lot of emotion, a lot of joy to my family, fans, friends. It’s pretty (darn) cool,” Wallace said. “Just proud to be a winner in the Cup Series.”
What Wallace’s NASCAR win means
Wallace’s victory signified more than just a snap to his winless streak since a Truck Series race at Michigan in 2017. He became the second Black driver in history to win a race at NASCAR’s top level at a track that already held a certain significance to him.
“I was sitting in the bus after they called (the race yesterday) and I was close to texting (NASCAR president) Steve Phelps saying, ‘I don’t want a phone call,’ ” Wallace said. “Because it’s basically the same thing that happened. Rain delay, called the race, gotta race on Monday. And it’s just like, ‘Man, this is déjà vu.’ ”
Wallace was recalling an incident last year that launched him into the national spotlight at the same superspeedway in his home state during a similar weather postponement that moved the race from Sunday to Monday. Phelps informed him that a rope tied like a noose was found in his garage stall the week after he called on the sanctioning body to ban the Confederate flag at its events.
An FBI investigation determined that Wallace was not the target of a hate crime, since the garage door pull had been tied in that fashion long before Wallace was assigned the stall, but the NASCAR industry rallied around Wallace in solidarity. Meanwhile, critics called the incident a “hoax” or turned to attacking his lack of results on the track as a former driver for the small Richard Petty Motorsports team.
Wallace is now in his first season with the Jordan-owned team, which was established with a mission to help diversify the NASCAR industry and provide opportunities for people of color and women coming up through the motorsports ranks. The Toyota-backed team has had middling results in its first year with three top-five finishes and is not in playoff contention, but Wallace said that Monday’s win felt like a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.
“It’s definitely been tough going to the track, some of these tracks, this year,” Wallace said. “You get some of the most boos now. Obviously everybody says, ‘As long as they’re making noise, that’s fine.’ I get booed for different reasons, and that’s the tough thing to swallow.”
But a vocal crowd formed at Talladega in support of Wallace while they waited out the weather, and his fans and other drivers congratulated him on social media following the race.
Warrick Scott Sr., the grandson of Wendell Scott, tweeted his congratulations to Wallace. Scott Sr. accepted a trophy from NASCAR this year on behalf of the late Wendell Scott for his win in 1963 and said at the time that he was cheering for Wallace to win at Daytona. Bill Lester, one of a few Black drivers to race in NASCAR’s national series, also tweeted his congratulations on Monday.
“Finally, it’s official, you’ve done it!” Lester wrote. “Congratulations @BubbaWallace. So proud of you and what you’ve accomplished. Your win moves the @NASCAR needle forward on so many fronts. Glad I was a witness. @23XIRacing #BLM”
Hamlin-Jordan 23XI team shows promise
The win also signified many firsts for Wallace’s new 23XI team, which will grow to run two cars next season when the team adds veteran driver Kurt Busch to the lineup. Bootie Barker, who was recently promoted to Wallace’s crew chief midseason, earned his first Cup win in that role, and Hamlin and Jordan became first-time winners as NASCAR team owners.
“I’m so happy for Bubba and our entire 23XI Racing team,” Jordan said in a statement. “This is a huge milestone and a historic win for us. From the day we signed him, I knew Bubba had the talent to win and Denny and I could not be more proud of him. Let’s go!”
Hamlin is still in postseason contention and hunting for his first Cup championship, but he said he was more emotional watching the No. 23 team win than his No. 11.
“It’s like watching your kid succeed at whatever they’re doing,” Hamlin said. “ ... I can understand and I appreciate this win more as a car owner because I know how hard the last 10 to 12 months have been putting this thing together and trying to take it up to NASCAR’s highest level, which is not easy obviously.”
Hamlin also called attention to founding sponsor McDonald’s earning its first NASCAR win as a primary partner since 1994.
He dismissed anyone calling the race “fixed,” referring to them as “haters.”
“(Wallace) drove it to the front and the caution came out,” Hamlin said. “There’s not much else you can do. I was busy trying to push the 20 car (Christopher Bell) as hard as I could to keep him up front.”
“He just played the lines just right and got around us there, obviously got the win.” Hamlin said added. “It’s still pouring here.”
Other drivers chimed in sharing a similar sentiment. Third-place finisher Joey Logano called Wallace’s win “great for our sport” and said that it was earned. Second-place finisher Brad Keselowski tweeted that he was, “Happy for @BubbaWallace to get his first win.”
“He won it. He was up front when the caution came out,” Logano said. “We’ve all won or got beat on weather-shortened races. I don’t think it matters. You get the trophy.”
Teams were watching a damp forecast throughout the afternoon as clouds threatened the already weather-postponed race. Barker called for Wallace to pit for four new tires after the halfway point, and spotter Freddie Kraft guided him to the front by Lap 113 (of 117).
“I told him at a certain point, ‘Look, we need to get this far, this many laps in, then I’m going to turn you loose,’ ” Barker said. “ ... I said, ‘You’ve done what I asked you to do, you’ve been smart, now go after it.’ That’s when he flew. It worked out.”
Kevin Harvick (minus-9 points), Christopher Bell (minus-28), William Byron (minus-44) and Alex Bowman (minus-52) now sit below the cutoff heading to the final race in the postseason Round of 12. The next Cup race is Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course, also called the Roval.
Wallace sarcastically called the Roval his best track, but with Talladega, he actually had a good feeling.
“This was on Friday. I was like, ‘We’re going to go win,’ ” Wallace said. “Amanda said we were going to win. I had a buddy of mine, Mamba, I told him I’m going to go out and win. I got it documented.”
Wallace’s win was for more than just him. He credited the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program with jump-starting his racing career and said that he supports the next generation of diverse talent coming up through the pipeline. He had a message for young fans celebrating his win with him:
“You’re going to go through a lot of BS when you want to stand up for what’s right and be yourself and encourage others to do the same,” Wallace said. “So just be ready for that. Don’t let anybody else tell you you can’t do something that you are so passionate about. Just always stay true to your craft.
“If you are passionate about being where you want to be inside the sport, then be a part of it,” Wallace said. “Stay true to it. Never give up and just keep pushing.”
