Bubba Wallace Pushed to Front of Field In Show of Solidarity

NASCAR was a big news story Sunday on a day where there was no race. Granted, it was due to weather that the GEICO 500 was delayed to Monday but the big news was centered around the fact that a noose was found in the garage area of Bubba Wallace, who is the lone black driver on the NASCAR Cup circuit, at Talladega. The announcement by NASCAR about the incident incited a furor, with the announcement that the circuit would work with law enforcement a welcome statement. With the race rescheduled for Monday, Wallace’s fellow drivers, normally competitors on the track but friendly off of it, worked on a plan to show their solidarity with him prior to the green flag.

Prior to the race, all the drivers in the field got out of their vehicles and stood with Wallace for the national anthem. So did members of the pit crews and other members of NASCAR as they showed solidarity with Wallace. Before the anthem was played and during the pre-race ceremonies, the other drivers pushed Wallace’s car down pit road and to the front of the field. Even The King of NASCAR himself, Richard Petty, made the trip to Talladega to be with Wallace, who drives the 43 car, to be the first person to greet Wallace when he stepped out of the vehicle. It was his first trip to the track since before the pause that came about as a matter of the coronavirus.

NASCAR President Steve Phelps said that the actions taken by the other drivers was a sign of how close-knit the community is when he spoke to reporters. "The drivers feel very strongly that they want to show their support of Bubba. He's a member of the NASCAR community. He's a member of the NASCAR family."

Jimmie Johnson, who is retiring at the end of the year, said that the drivers wanted to stand with their friend in an interview on FOX prior to the race Monday afternoon. During that interview, he said: "As this idea came together today, it started within the drivers, and then as the crew members caught wind that we wanted to push Bubba's car down and stand with him during the national anthem, the teams wanted to get involved as well, and you saw the support, it was pretty amazing."

For his part, Wallace ran a terrific race most of the way. He had 177 green-flag passes, leading the field in that category. He held the lead with 30 laps to go on Monday and was still right in the thick of it as the race wound toward its inevitable conclusion. Unfortunately, he ran low on fuel with five laps to go, necessitating a pit stop that the majority of the leaders managed to avoid, and finished 14th.

While there was no Cinderella ending for Wallace, the fact remains that what happened before the race is what will resonate across the country. Given all the unrest and conflict that has come to the forefront over the last month or so and it’s refreshing to see something like this take place. Less than a month after the Confederate flag was banned from NASCAR tracks, we have this show of support from a group of drivers to one of their own. For all the jokes and stereotypes that are lobbed as fans of NASCAR, the sport handled a racial incident with aplomb and really sent a message out there about how to deal with things. In the process, the respect for the sport and its participants may have seen a boost as well. It’s picked up some big-name athletes that have tuned in for the first time recently, like LeBron James himself.

People are watching. NASCAR delivered the kind of message that the world needs at the moment.