Bubba Wallace: 'Pretty Damn Cool' to Be 2nd Black Driver to Win NASCAR Cup Race

On Monday, Bubba Wallace became just the second Black driver in history to win a Cup Series race, and the first since Wendell Scott in 1963, after winning the rain-shortened YellaWood 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway.

"I never think about those things," he said after the race. "When you say it like that, it obviously brings a lot of emotion, a lot of joy to my family, fans, friends. It's pretty damn cool, so, just proud to be a winner in the Cup Series."

Wallace also has faced major tribulations at this particular racetrack. 

In June 2020 at Talladega, a noose was found in Wallace's stall, a week after NASCAR finally banned Confederate flags at its races—an issue Wallace had pressed them on. While an FBI investigation would later conclude that the noose had been in that particular stall for months and was not a hate crime directed at Wallace, the entirety of the NASCAR field walked his car to the starting line in solidarity before that race. 

And emotions were clearly running high for Wallace after Monday's victory. 

"This is for all the kids out there that want to have an opportunity and whatever they want to achieve, and be the best at what they want to do," an emotion Wallace said. "You're going to go through a lot of bulls--t. But you always got to stick true to your path and not let the nonsense get to you. Stay strong. Stay humble. Stay hungry. Been plenty of times when I wanted to give up."

Wallace held the lead in Monday's race after 117 laps. When rain again halted the event—it was originally scheduled for Sunday, but inclement weather forced a one-day postponement—NASCAR called the race, giving Wallace his first win.