Bubba Wallace emerges as NASCAR’s improbable yet ideally suited change agent

Afro

Afro

Student of life
Supporter
Joined
Feb 8, 2016
Messages
11,159
Reputation
6,110
Daps
48,193
https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...suited-change-agent/?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Born in Alabama and reared in North Carolina, Bubba Wallace doesn’t remember seeing a Confederate flag until he went to a racetrack. His memory isn’t tied to a particular track because the flag was a fixture in the grandstands nearly everywhere he competed as a young racer.

But that’s not what transformed Wallace into a change agent in America’s most tradition-bound sport. It was the video of an unarmed black jogger being gunned down in Georgia after he was cornered by a white father and son brandishing a pistol and shotgun.

“The Ahmaud Arbery video was the final straw for me in being silent. That shook me to the core like nothing has in the past,” Wallace, 26, said in a telephone interview Friday. “Something flipped inside of me to be more vocal and stand up for racial equality and make sure we get a hold on that and change the face of this world and get it to a better place. Creating unity and compassion and understanding of each of our brothers and sisters is so powerful. We have to preach that to the ones that don’t want to listen and understand.”

Having risen from NASCAR’s Truck and Xfinity series to stock-car racing’s elite ranks, Wallace has yet to win a Cup Series race. (He finished second in the 2018 Daytona 500.) But he made an inestimable mark on NASCAR this week, becoming the first driver to publicly call for it to ban displays of the Confederate flag at events. Less than 48 hours later, NASCAR did just that.
Click to expand...

:wow:



For his efforts, Wallace has been inundated with extremes. He has had a surge of 30,000 new social media followers, many declaring newfound love for NASCAR, Wallace and his No. 43 Chevrolet. But he also has received plenty of condemnation and even threats.

“They see me as somebody who’s tearing down their heritage,” Wallace said of fans who are irate about the ban. “But we’re not trying to close the door on you; we’re opening the door to many others that want to be a part of this sport.”

The Confederate flag long has flown in the face of NASCAR’s hopes for broader appeal

The only full-time African American racer in NASCAR’s Cup series, and the first since the late Wendell Scott of Danville, Va., retired in 1973, Wallace is uniquely suited to lead NASCAR into the future its executives say they want: one in which women and minorities feel welcome and fill the grandstands, pit crews and driver ranks in numbers that mirror the diversity of America.

Wallace’s father is white; his mother is black. Both are NASCAR loyalists and fans, in particular, of seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt. So Bubba, who started racing at age 9, grew up an Earnhardt fan, too.

Today, Wallace occupies the most iconic ride in NASCAR: the No. 43 that stock-car racing’s “King,” Richard Petty, drove to seven championships. Though 56 years younger than Petty, his boss at Richard Petty Motorsports, Wallace has due respect for his racing elders but handles himself as his own man, with his own style, brandishing a tattoo of Petty’s famous autograph on the back of his right thigh.

Unlike the many NASCAR drivers who shrink from controversy for fear of alienating corporate sponsors, Wallace speaks his mind, whether discussing depression, which he has suffered from, or now, as the nation wrestles with its legacy of racism following the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police, speaking up for those who can’t and asking others to listen and try to understand.

“I encourage people to have those tough conversations just to educate yourself on what goes on and how we can create equality in the world and grow together as one,” Wallace said. “Yes, all lives matter. But black lives matter, too. And many in the black community don’t feel like their life matters; they feel like they’re discriminated against just because of being black. We are trying to get the narrative across that our lives are just as important as anybody else’s.”
Click to expand...
 
Problematic Pat

Problematic Pat

Superstar
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
8,140
Reputation
701
Daps
34,626
When the Lewis Hamilton of NASCAR emerges cacs gonna be livid. :mjlol:

shyt it's just like any sport. When UFC started getting popular there was this MMA forum where cacs were saying "There will never be a Black champion in any division because MMA is a thinking sport":francis:

BAM then Anderson Silva showed up making a mockery out of his opponents and got the strap. Benson Henderson then Rampagee Jackson, Rashad Evans, Might Mouse, Jon Jones,Daniel Cromier etc showing Black fighters were a force and were always the most exciting to watch.
 
frush11

frush11

Superstar
Joined
May 1, 2012
Messages
20,309
Reputation
2,725
Daps
46,173
Reppin
NULL
Honestly, oh well. You went into their world, you know how they get down.:manny:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top