The importance of Bubba Wallace and NASCAR’s work together extends beyond racing.
NASCAR, starting its cup season Sunday with the Daytona 500, needs Wallace as much as Wallace needs NASCAR. Especially if the sport is to grow beyond the crowd struggles and plummeting TV ratings that have plagued the sport for more than a decade.
Especially if the sport is meant to appeal to a more diverse audience.
Diversity is the driving force when it comes to marketing NASCAR and its expiring TV deal with Fox and NBC, which runs through 2024. Former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick helped expand the sport to little girls who wanted to race, and a similar impact is still being felt through minority NASCAR racing programs in which Wallace, Daniel Suarez and Kyle Larson participated.
But most importantly, Wallace has the charisma and talent to attract blacks who may not give the sport a second thought, and its impact is already being felt. In 2021, Denny Hamlin, Wallace’s boss, conducted HBCU issues from Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, LeMoyne-Owen College and Tennessee State in his car.
“Bubba is important to the sport,” said NBC NASCAR announcer Kyle Petty. “It doesn’t matter if he wins or is competitive – he has to show up. His presence in the sport is different from when Danica (Patrick) was in the sport. She has opened many doors for women. But with Bubba, it’s completely different. He has the talent to win if he’s in the right gear. He just means so much to the African American community.”
Car owners Joe Gibbs, Kyle Busch, Jack Roush and Richard Petty hired Wallace at various stages of his career, helping him grow into a two-time race winner who is now allied with NBA legend Michael Jordan. Jordan and Hamlin formed the 23XI Racing Team, for which Wallace will compete again this season.
With the start of the 2023 NASCAR season, Wallace spoke to the Clarion Ledger about his quest for racing glory against the backdrop of his larger mission to continue Wendell Scott’s legacy and pave a way for more black people in the sport:
4 HBCU SCHOOL LOGOS ON DENNY HAMLIN’S CAR4 HBCU school logos appear on NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin’s rear bumper this weekend
CL: This is your sixth year at NASCAR, how have you changed?
SW: Every year and every race is different. There are always obstacles in your way, you have to react differently and know what the race is going to be like. We’ve done some good things over the past year and we’re constantly evolving. I feel more confident than ever this year.
CL: Do you ever think there will come a time when you won’t be known as a black driver who wins a race, or just as a driver?
SW: Yes, I don’t know if that will ever come. Until we start looking like the NBA or NFL I don’t know. We still have a lot of work to do to get to that point, but I understand my position and role outside of racing, so I’m just taking it one day at a time and trying to get through it as best I can.
CL: Do you see yourself as a role model for African Americans and what does Black History Month mean to you?
SW: Yes I do. I am often reminded of this when I get questions like this or my mother or family. It’s interesting because you’re under a microscope every step of the way and sometimes you make a mistake and you’re reminded, ‘Hey, you have so many people looking up to you, you have to watch what you say, eat, and drink .’ It’s part of it and I enjoy it.
CL: What do you think of Wendell Scott opening doors for you?
SW: The Scott family was great. They were big supporters of mine before I even got big. It’s an honor to know this family and to see the impact he (Scott) still has on the sport. The opposite is that it was a humbling process trying to carry the torch and we have carried it further and I expect when I am done that my torch will be carried further than what I did. It means a lot to the family and it means a lot to me to carry on the Wendell Scott legacy.
CL: What bosses are Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin?
SW: Competitive. Both are super competitive. They drive us to do our best. Denny has been with us for a couple of years. He thinks he knows this sport inside out and is a walking notebook.
MJ, he’s here. He wants to make sure you have all the resources and everything you need to win.
CL: How did the trip with Jordan come about and was it a difficult decision to leave Petty Enterprises?
SW: Yes, I looked at the future of what I was trying to do. The Petty’s were a really small team and they accomplished a lot with little. They didn’t actually move the needle. They fought hard for sponsorships and tried to keep everything going and we made it happen. And then the deal with MJ (Michael Jordan), Denny and Toyota came together and I was able to kind of see the future with that opportunity – it wasn’t an easy step at all. I had a lot of reserves to change at all. It was pretty good.
CL: How have the Pettys helped your career?
SW: You gave me my chance. It was my first cup ride in 2017 and it was a full-time opportunity for the next three years. It was really special to be part of a team that is family oriented. I took a lot of what I learned from the track and in the car, how to play together with the team. I brought a lot of that over here to the 23XI team. I’m really grateful to the Petty’s and it was a blessing to race for and against them.
CL: What are your expectations for this year’s Daytona 500 after finishing second last year?
SW: Daytona is such a crapshoot, for lack of a better word. You never know what to expect. It takes a full team effort from me, the spotter and the crew chief to make sure we are there at the end to give us a chance to win all the wrecks and survive. If we can finish up one place this year, that would be great.
CL: You won in Talladega and Kansas, which tracks do you need to improve on?
SW: Street courses come to mind first. There’s a handful of tracks that we’ve circled on the schedule: Richmond that we need to get better at.
CL: What are your goals this year besides winning a championship?
SW: I think you have to look at what we did last year, the second half of the season. We started LA (Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum) like that. We started at the front and led a few laps for most of the night. We just have to keep doing this. We need to push forward more consistently and get more top 5 finishes, top 10 finishes and more stage wins. The full nine to get to the playoffs and reach the championship.
CL: Are you a life person?
SW: Oh yeah. I have many more races to win before I think about owning a racing team. Owning a team is currently not in sight.
Comments are closed.