Bubba Wallace Refuses to Let Controversy Define Him, Puts Michael Jordan in Victory Lane

• Bubba Wallace achieved significant notoriety in 2021 when he became only the second Black driver in NASCAR history to win a Cup race.

• Previously, Wendell Scott earned his only career win in NASCAR’s premier series (known then as the Grand National Series) in 1963.

• Wallace also has been part of several controversial incidents during his career.

William Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. is a talented race car driver who in 2017 became the first Black driver to reach the NASCAR Cup Series since Bill Lester (2006).

But more significantly, the Mobile, Ala. native (but grew up in Concord, N.C., in the shadow of Charlotte Motor Speedway), Wallace achieved significant notoriety in 2021 when he became only the second Black driver in NASCAR history to win a Cup race, when Wendell Scott earned his only career win in NASCAR’s premier series (known then as the Grand National Series) in 1963.

To further extrapolate that, Wallace has been the only Black driver to race full time in all three of NASCAR’s premier series (Cup, Xfinity and Trucks) throughout his career.

Wallace’s first Cup win came on October 4, 2021 at Talladega Superspeedway. However, the win was not without controversy: NASCAR prematurely ended what had originally been a 188-lap scheduled event after just 117 laps due to rain.

Wallace was the race leader when the event was placed under caution for the second time that afternoon due to rain, and after an attempt to dry the track was abruptly stopped when rain began to fall again, NASCAR ultimately wound up ruling the race finish official, giving Wallace the victory.

It not only was Wallace’s first career Cup triumph, but also the first win in NASCAR’s premier series for rookie Cup team 23XI Racing, co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and Cup Series veteran driver Denny Hamlin. In addition, it was the first win for a McDonald’s sponsored car since 1994 (Jimmy Spencer was behind the wheel).

While there’s little dispute that Wallace is a talented driver, his career to date has been marked with significant inconsistency.

His greatest success came in the Camping World Truck Series, when he earned six wins, 15 top-five and 28 top-10 finishes in 49 starts. Wallace aspired for even greater achievement and moved to the Xfinity Series, where he won two races and had six top-five and 36 top-10 finishes in 88 starts. However, due to a combination of lack of overall success and primary sponsorship, he competed in just two full-time seasons (2015 and 2016), with a best overall season finish of seventh in 2015.