Whether the die-hard NASCAR fan likes it or not, Bubba Wallace has been one figure in modern-day stock car racing whose actions have directly influenced change in America’s premier motorsports genre. Irrespective of the now 23XI Racing driver’s performances on the track and how he has progressed throughout his career, one of the biggest highlights of his career remains his outcry against racial discrimination in NASCAR.
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Wallace was the driving force against the governance banning the display of the Confederate Flag at any NASCAR events due to the values it stood for. Sparked by the hugely controversial George Floyd case, Wallace recalled how his lobbying for changes in the sport came around and hit him right at home.
“I never understood the history behind it (the flag) and how it made certain people feel. I had the pest-control guy come by yesterday, and he was like, ‘Man, I appreciate everything you’re doing.’ He’s never gone to a race because of the flag. And now he plans on going. He’s African American. I thought that was pretty powerful,” said Wallace during an interview in 2020.
Owing to its roots deep in Southern American culture, stock car racing has always been a sport with extremely opinionated fans and cultural values. Often seen as a rebellious movement against the confines of society, NASCAR racing in the early days consisted only of a certain type of person who could either win, feel included, or both.
The Confederate Flag, while being a symbol of Southern heritage in America also stood for glorification of the Civil War and slavery, while supporting the white supremacy movement.
“It’s very hard for people to understand that one side of the flag means hatred and everything bad. The other side, it’s heritage with the South,” explained the #23 Toyota driver. “So we had to have those tough conversations with those people to get them to fully understand, ‘Hey, this isn’t only about you. It’s about everybody making us feel welcome.”
Wallace’s outcry against the Confederate Flag was met with equal amounts if not more backlash than support, with the infamous noose incident deciding the fanbase to this date.
However difficult the lobbying for change was for Wallace, the sport today is a better place given his courageous stance against what he felt was oppression for a minority. Figures of color such as Lewis Hamilton lead the same charge in the world of F1.
