Race: Bubba Wallace (2022) s01e06 Episode Script
Engine of Change
1
Here we go.
Looks like we're going on a golf trip.
Which I ain't complaining about.
Yes.
All right, let's do it.
Fore.
Thinking about playing golf gets me excited just like thinking about racing gets me excited.
Same way.
Gets you fired up.
And it's such a mental game.
I mean, these drivers, you gotta take mental breaks.
This sport is so demanding, not only from a physical perspective, but also from a mental capacity.
So, opportunities like this where you can get away just to have a mental reset.
It's so big.
It's crucial.
I need one of y'all behind me with the Shot Tracer, because I ain't gonna find half of them.
Golf, it's 95% mental, how you approach it, how you play through the game, and keep your mindset level-headed, you know, just like a race.
I tell you what, it's a great day for it.
How you approach the race is important.
Can't beat it.
If you show up like you're defeated, then you're gonna be defeated.
And so I try to do a better job of that, especially at some of the tougher courses.
Show up and be like, "I'm gonna hit good today.
" - That's a shot.
Come right.
Settle.
- Pulled that thing.
- That'll be all right.
- Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Mm.
Damn.
The cameras.
It was bad, and that's documented.
Kyle doesn't like playing with me, because I said the game is 95% mental and 5%, you know, skill.
Well, there's actually 150%, game of golf, 'cause the other 50% is shit-talking.
Oh, they're still filming you.
Good.
The walk of shame right there.
Bogey right here.
I need this.
- Missed it! - Oh! My God.
Fuck this game.
Oh, he sailed it.
No, he didn't.
Did he do it? Boom, baby! - Let's go! - Fuckin' bang, bang.
Hellacious par 5 coming up now.
These shots scare me.
Oh.
See ya.
- Don't fuck it up, Kyle.
- Oh shit.
No pressure.
Five dollars.
That's you back there? I swear, I hate this game, and I love this game.
Don't matter what you do.
Five dollars.
Nope.
- Right here.
- God Almighty, the pressure is real! Telling everybody how relaxing it is, and then after eight holes, everybody wants to kill each other, so I Like What other sport does that other than golf? Boom! Yes! Whoo! That was awesome.
Good game.
That saved my wallet.
Oh, ooh.
- This is the beginning.
- This is the new beginning.
- So, is it '22, '23 or what? - '22.
This is next year.
- Oh wow.
- This is Yeah.
Five months away.
My name is Kevin Liles, co-founder and CEO of 300 Entertainment and also partner in Prosports Management.
You know, the funny thing, people speak to me, "Kevin, I thought you were in the music business.
" NASCAR wasn't something that was in my mind or something that I was interested in until I got a call from one of my friends, and he said to me, "I have this kid, and he's the only African-American, you know, NASCAR driver, and one of my friends, Rod, he would love to talk to you about it.
" Through a connection of mine, was able to form a relationship with Kevin Liles.
As the former president of Def Jam Records, involved in the signing of Jay Z with Def Jam, and, uh, really a guy that had an extremely strong Rolodex, very creative, and felt that partnering with him, we would be able to effectively secure sponsorship for Bubba.
I was just thinking when we didn't have the right car, when we didn't have the sponsors, and now all of this.
So, I I haven't seen it in this form.
I know the car's leaving, but tell me about it.
Where are we now? So, we just loaded up some Pretty cool to see the golden arches on our car.
- Yes, that's - Yeah.
But, yeah.
No, this is it.
This is, uh, it's not just a blank race car.
In my eight-plus years representing Bubba, we were never able to secure the level of funding that Bubba would need to really compete with the best racers.
It's tough when people say, "Just be yourself, and don't change.
" "Sponsorship will come.
" It's all bullshit, 'cause, you know, I was way different than any other driver, not even a racial side of things, and nothing.
Sponsorship is the lifeblood of motorsports.
So, are you able to find a sponsor that identifies with your personality, identifies with your beliefs, with your values, and that you can be the face of that company? They were like, "Sponsorship will come.
Sponsorship will come.
" "Just go out and win.
When you win, that makes everything easier.
" Down the backstretch, Wallace almost a backstretch lead over second place Brendan Gaughan.
Out of turn number four, Darrell Wallace, Jr.
's gonna get his first win in the Camping World Truck Series.
When we won that race at Martinsville, I wasn't thinking about sponsorship.
I just knew we'd won a race.
Great.
Awesome.
Got that first win.
And today, Bubba Wallace picks up his third career win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Well, then, a week later, two weeks later, a month later I was like, "How've the phone lines been?" "Dead.
Nothing.
" I was like, "Huh.
So that theory's bullshit.
" There may have been some companies that may not have been ready to, you know, sort of hitch their wagon to Bubba, maybe based on race.
Felt like my timetable was getting smaller, 'cause the sponsorships didn't come, and so, uh, it wasn't until 2020 Wallace is NASCAR's only full-time Black driver, who's taking a stand African-American driver Wallace wore a T-shirt with Floyd's final words and "Black Lives Matter" on it.
Before the events of 2020, Bubba, outside of NASCAR, was likely not very well-known.
What's the next action, Bubba? I don't know.
Starts with Confederate flags.
Get them out.
No place for 'em.
When he found his voice, that started to change.
I said couple weeks ago that something changed inside of me to be an activist.
My mother said, "Ever believe you'd be an activist?" And I'm like, "No, not really," but, you know, I just felt something in my heart that I needed to step up.
Wallace will run a special Black Lives Matter paint scheme.
I haven't slept much thinking about this race.
Everything going into it, everything going on in the world.
Trying to race to change the world, so, see y'all at the end of this thing.
A historic night for Martinsville Speedway.
When I saw Bubba driving the Black Lives Matter car, I said, "Damn, this brother is going to get Kaepernicked.
" It's gonna be done.
Can't just sit silent just because everybody else is.
I have a responsibility.
It's automatic that I have a responsibility.
But, it was just the right time.
The groundswell was so sincere.
It forced a lot of companies to get some courage too.
Time is of the essence, and it's time to stand up for what's right.
After I hung up with Ty Dillon, management's calling me.
"Hey, man.
We got big people on the line.
" Like, "No shit.
Hmm.
" The conversations started to significantly increase.
In fact, in my 25-plus years of representing athletes, I've never seen anything quite like it.
I didn't even know this.
Before the season started, you didn't have a sponsor for every race.
Suffice to say you do now.
We are really, really proud to announce, uh, the partnership with DoorDash.
They will be jumping on our race car for seven races this year, multi-year deal.
I was personally inspired by Bubba, and as a company, we were inspired.
We felt that there was a lot of shared values around the things that Bubba stood for and things that DoorDash stands for.
We'd been looking at NASCAR for a couple years, but hadn't yet found a way to line up the things we cared about with the things that NASCAR, as a league, cared about.
When Bubba emerged, it felt like the right moment to engage with the sport.
It made this a no-brainer when we came out and said, "We're going to sponsor Bubba Wallace.
" DoorDash, Columbia, Root, Dr.
Pepper, McDonald's stepped up.
Black McDonald's owners were aware that we had an uber-talented driver, who wasn't necessarily getting all the resources and the sponsors that he needed to be successful.
People saw there was an opportunity to be part of the change happening in the sport.
There was an opportunity to take the work Bubba was doing and help supercharge it.
How do you respond to the request that you apologize? It's so good to be back in Nashville, so good to be back at the Nashville Superspeedway.
The place sold out, fans have been filing in since daybreak, and they're ready for 300 laps.
And so are we.
At this point in the season, we still have a handful of races to go.
Still looking for that first win, trying to get ourselves in the playoffs.
We quickly realized, even when you have the best stuff in the garage, the sport is still tough.
And here they come, all the eyes on the flag stand.
Ready green, green.
Green flag goes in the air.
Everybody diving and darting for position going into turn one.
- Let's go to work.
- Yes, sir! Let's talk about Nashville.
What happened? Oh, dude.
Ryan Blaney's up into the wall.
He slips high out of the groove, slaps the safer barrier.
And two cars into the safer barrier in turn number two.
Lot of people had brake failures.
Brakes getting too hot, exploding.
When the brake rotor explodes, I mean, pieces of the rotor are flying.
And the 99 was passing us on the front stretch, so I just went to run high, and I had seen a piece of brake rotor laying on the track, like, last minute, and I went to turn I'm thinking, "I ran over that brake rotor," but I'm not gonna say it over the radio.
Gonna get by with it.
Two laps later Tire, tire! Just stay up.
You're gonna roll the best you can.
Turn two, Bubba Wallace has a tire down on the DoorDash machine.
He spins down to the bottom of the track, slides back into the middle of the groove.
Everybody checks up.
Everybody makes it by.
A wild ride out of turn two for Bubba Wallace.
That will put us under the caution flag for the sixth time here this afternoon.
They don't clean up rotor parts on the front stretch! Piss-poor job by them! Fuckin' pathetic.
Exchange the fuckin' lefts.
Left side.
It's left side to pick it up.
It was just like one thing after another.
Three, two, one.
Stand to only lose one lap here.
Bit of fender damage.
We'll work on it.
Everything is still there.
Still in the game.
Start at the back again.
We are one of three cars, one lap down.
10-4.
And like every 45 minutes, it's just, like, punched in the gut.
You're on the inside of the 34, and the 38 gets a little out of shape.
Inside.
He's got the 7 pushing him.
34 cuts down as I'm under him, spins us out.
Trouble straightaway.
Bubba Wallace loses the handle coming off turn number two, slides down into the infield grass, ends up pointed north in the southbound lane, now gets it righted, and will try and pull away.
And cautions on the speedway for the tenth time today.
You can't fucking cut down when somebody's underneath you! I've had enough of that motherfucker and this motherfucking day.
And we go to the back again.
So, it was just Nashville sucked.
And Kyle Larson wins the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Okay, Bub.
P-21.
Cool that motor down, please.
We're gonna need it again.
I know it was a rough day, but, uh, we need some help here.
I've learned my lesson a couple times passing out, when I'm mad and frustrated and I get out of the car too quick and walk over and talk about it, and then I just pass out.
Shit.
One thing after another, all day.
Four hours of just getting punched in the face.
You all right? Just sore.
Sore from just getting my fucking ass kicked today.
These race cars can get up to 140 degrees inside of them.
It's super hot, and it's obviously gonna wear you out, especially in Nashville, where it was over a hundred on the heat index, so I can't imagine how hot it was in the car, but it's just a matter of just being drained, you know, dehydrated after the race.
To sit in that thing for four hours, trying to be competitive, it's a different kind of conditioning.
Lot of guys question if these guys are athletes or not.
Try sitting in your car for four hours with the windows rolled up, and crank the heat on as hard as you can, and see how much you like it riding around 50 miles an hour, let alone riding around at 150 miles an hour.
Bubba, he calls me, like, "Hey, I wanna catch up.
I wanna chat.
" He started telling me, "I don't know, man.
" "It's like, the anxiety has been high, the depression has been high.
" So I'm telling him, like, "You gotta stop right there.
You need help.
" "Obviously, that's something you need to take very seriously.
" And he's like, "There's just such a negative stigma on getting help.
" You know, "I don't wanna be that guy that has to talk to somebody because he's got emotional issues.
" I was like, "Man, I think you have some demons inside of you.
" "We need to get those addressed.
" "You're just torturing yourself.
" He's like, "No, I'm fine.
I don't need to worry about it.
" Come on.
And, like, now he's in shambles again.
So, it's tough.
Hello, sir.
How are you? Half the battle is actually showing up.
So, thanks for continuing to do that.
Recapping what transpired three days ago I think that I-I swear to y'all the results were fucking awful.
I hate them, and I know that You know, our strategy was fucked.
I know where our ceiling is here, and it is way higher than what we're actually finishing.
Expectations What do I say? "Don't have them, and you won't be disappointed.
" And yeah, I still get 'em.
It's like, fuck, how far are we gonna fall here? We'll be fine.
It's it's the mental side of things, and it's just, like, fucking A.
Guarantee if we have just a smooth race where it's If we run 25th all day, I'll be pissed.
Yeah, sure.
But if we just gotta focus.
Help me keep the focus there.
So, y'all help me on that, because I am just fucking gone that way.
Bubba, do you think it would be helpful if we had, like, someone to help check emotions at times? I don't know, dawg.
I don't I don't know.
I need help.
Dude, there's there's a lot of shit up here that that takes me out, that I'm working on, but I need help.
I-I think that Bubba has a lot of pressure.
Listen, we all have pressure in this situation.
You cannot run 20th for forever.
We have gotta We've gotta bounce back when adversity hits us.
That is the difference in the greats and the and the people that don't.
Jesus Christ.
That's all we're praying for at this point is a clean race, but it's going to come from us making making sure that happens, right? Yeah.
Oh, fuck.
You know, I let a lot of outside influences influence me, to piss me off, or kind of put me in a in a bad mental state.
At the beginning of the year, I says, you know, "Stop trying to prove haters wrong.
You will always have haters.
" Ultimately, you're gonna think about that while you're driving a race car.
"You can't do this, you can't do that.
" And you make a mistake.
I'm imagining right now he's not in a good place.
That's why I sent him the text.
It's the text from Mom.
"I've been looking at some old footage of you.
" "It just amazes me how far you've come.
" "Just remember the humble beginnings from which you came from.
" Embrace that and go back to those humble beginnings when you were winning, when you were loving racing.
I said, "And then everything else will come full circle.
" "Go get 'em, tiger.
Today is a good day for a win.
Love you, son.
" Her "Go get 'em, tiger" is she's said that from day one.
And so that's, like, a insider for us.
Race for Bubba.
Ready to call the action this afternoon on a beautiful Sunday afternoon from Pocono Raceway.
Pocono is one of those tracks Pocono is my I don't know what.
I guess it's my, uh, kryptonite.
So I think it was 2018, and then I just about died there.
I had a moment where I was terrified, like I'd never been terrified before.
I've been scared before from somebody jumping at you, but terrified thinking that you were going to die.
Pocono's front stretch is the longest straightaway anywhere we go.
And so, you're pushing 180, and my brakes exploded.
And then, in that split moment, you have a decision of turn right and run into the wall or try to cut through the infield and get to the back stretch.
I was 50 yards away from hitting the fence head-on at 160 at that time.
- And it's like - "This is it.
" Oh! No brakes.
Bubba Wallace slams the wall! Dale, you have to assume, seeing the 43 in the grass, he's trying to do anything to slow that car down, and what a heavy, heavy impact into that safer barrier.
Terrified, when you have the sheer look of terror on your face, and you're just saying, "I'm gonna die.
That's it.
" It's just really frightening.
And that is the greatest view we could possibly see.
The window net coming down.
This was a massive hit.
As a mom, when they're going around, and I see wrecks, the first thing I look for, "Was the 43 in it?" Now, this year, "Is the 23 in it?" That is the first thing that I look for to make sure that he is okay.
Now, when I'm at the track, I walk around my baby's car.
I pray over it.
I pray over the front, the side, the back, the top.
I do all of that.
And then I pray for all the drivers.
I don't just pray for my son.
I pray for all the drivers, 'cause I don't want to see anybody hurt.
I've always said, "I never thought I'd be one of these people.
" If anything ever happened to Bubba out there on the track, and he was to lose his life, I would be one of those I understand now.
He died doing what he loved to do.
We climb in each and every day, and in the back of our minds, we know it could potentially be our last race.
But we have no fear.
We go out and do it.
Lord, we getting ready to do it again.
The 19th race of the 2021 season ready to go under the green flag.
The Pocono Raceway, here they come.
Now, 200, 100 feet shy of the start-finish line.
Green flag goes in the air.
Take care of fuel.
Got half-mile of straightaway.
Five on the front of Ryan.
May stack the tunnel up a bit, so be ready for it.
Take care of fuel.
Save big at the start-finish line.
My spotter and my crew chief were on me hard about saving fuel.
Every lap, they were telling me, "Do not go full throttle.
" Save fuel for me here, got a long plan here.
Strategy is a big part of where you finish.
Do fuel on the green and work on damage only.
No tires.
Do 4 at the stage.
Only need three seconds of fuel.
The engineering staff on the pit box, they know exactly what lap we're gonna run out of fuel at.
Ultimately, the 23 team made the decision to save fuel there, and it was a gamble.
Five, three, two, one.
We pit and filled our car up with fuel.
Take a fuel number, what you know, as a race team with your engineering staff, when you know what your fuel mileage is, and then work backwards from the advertised distance.
There's no worse feeling than when you think you calculated it right, and your car starts to stumble on fuel.
I don't know if you've run out of fuel on the highway.
About the same feeling.
Bubba Wallace has to conserve to get it the final six laps.
Towards the end, the strategy came into play, because the last time we pitted was gonna put us right at running out of fuel as we cross the line.
And so, a lot of guys were in a bad situation as to where they were gonna have to pit again.
And so we would pass all those guys.
Lot of fingernails being bitten to the quick now, trying to get to the end of this race.
Laps are drawing to a close.
Question is, does everybody have enough fuel to go? Gets down to the last couple laps, and I remember Freddie saying, "12 car's coming.
 Blaney's coming.
" I'm running him down, like the last handful of laps.
Beat the 12.
Beat him off of turn three.
Beat the 12.
Green light.
My crew chief was like, "You got the green light to flip your fuel switch and haul ass back around.
" Getting down to the nitty-gritty in Pocono.
We have a fuel switch in the car that gives us one lap of extra fuel.
And so Blaney gets to the inside of me.
And I drop the hammer and take off.
Got to my last lap and couldn't pass.
So I was bitter about it, but happy for him at the same time.
I said, "You sandbagging son of a bitch.
Had to pick it up when I got to you.
" Go to pump 2.
Green light.
Hard as you can.
And ended up beating him.
Here's your slow one.
Racing the 41.
Clear by 5 on the 12.
Once we knew we were in the green to take off and race back around, it was like a big sigh of relief.
One more good exit.
Don't burn on the 12 or jack up with 41.
Kyle Busch looks to the outside! Hamlin! Hamlin's out of gas! Hamlin bobbles out of 2! And they're headed to 3! Here comes Busch, now looking to the outside.
I was like, "All right, sweet.
Seventh, eighth, whatever.
" And Kyle Busch wins at Pocono! They were like, "P-5!" And I was like, "Oh, shit.
Awesome.
" I had no idea.
- P-5.
Nice job, Bub.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah! Yeah! Good job! Harvick, fourth.
Wallace was fifth.
Needed that.
Appreciate the coaching.
Y'all got annoying, but damn, I needed it.
Thank you, Freddie.
Thank you, Wheels.
Good job, everybody.
A big payday.
It's so stressful for the crew chiefs, engineers, all of us.
Coming home with the first top-five, top-ten of the year, which was big.
Well we survived that one.
Second day at Pocono.
Proud of our team.
Executed.
Strategy came into, uh, play there heavily, and, uh, think we crossed the line with fumes, but, uh, just just proud of everybody.
It was a great feeling to finally get their first top-five there at Pocono.
If we can have Bubba running in the top ten more consistently, that's gonna be a good first year for us and a good building block, and I think we're very capable of that.
We're on the cusp of it now.
What, what, what? Hey.
All right.
So, where am I meeting you? Gonna meet Lauletta and Wheels for a quick lunch before our comp meeting.
A lot of what we're gonna talk about is structure for expansion.
We're heading into a different time, different era, starting in 2022, and hopefully we adapt quicker than others.
Come on.
Minivan parking.
Yes! Oh, look at this.
Chicks are gonna dig it when I come out of this minivan.
Thank you.
Yeah.
- It's not a priority, but - No, I That's why I had the conversation with you last week saying, like, "Tell me what help you need, but let's make sure" Like, he's saying, let's hire the key guys we want in - That can do those positions.
- Senior roles.
- Hundred percent.
- Yeah.
Ultimately, we need you focused on, right now, that 23 car, 'cause it is the most important key factor - Yep.
- in this whole thing working.
So I don't wanna stretch you too thin.
So, I'm saying tell me what you need, and I'll go get them.
2021, we were just a one-car team with Bubba Wallace, an upstart team.
Things move quickly.
We're now gonna be a two-car team in 2022 with, uh, Kurt Busch as his teammate.
Kurt Busch is gonna win the Brother Duel! He wins in Atlanta! That's how you do it! Way to go, guys! If I get it started, I'mma finish I'm the landlord, you a tenant You think you got game, you a Kurt Busch, a champion, a veteran of 20 years of Cup racing.
He'd be on the top of the list for any team.
Kurt Busch will win! This is what a team does to win a championship.
Kurt Busch wins the Daytona 500.
- Unreal.
- That was awesome.
Hell yeah! Warning.
Well, I expect Bubba to step up his game.
And, you know, the results are really gonna be, uh, looking at his teammate as a barometer of where he needs to be.
This season wasn't consistent enough to point our way in.
We had some top-ten runs, top-15 runs, but we also had some top-20 and top-25, so we're just all over the board.
What is it going to take for the 23 team to make the playoffs? For him, at this point in the season, we look at it and say, "You gotta win.
" Getting set for the 148th point race on the Daytona oval tonight.
It's the regular season finale and the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
We start the season with the Daytona 500, Super Bowl of our season, but then to end the regular season, we go back to Daytona.
A ton of hype.
A lot on the line.
Since it's the last race of the regular season, it's a lot of drivers' last chance to get into the playoffs if you win.
Fifteen drivers locked into the playoffs, nothing to lose.
Two more that can race in on points.
All they can do is send it from his employee, that's Bubba Wallace, who's up to second.
that's to win.
I know that we can win.
Feeling good about it, feeling confident, and ready to go perform.
With the crowd on their feet, all eyes on the flag stand, and the green flag is out, and we are underway.
Drop the green flag, immediately try to charge to the front.
Denny Hamlin, he'll go charging up the gut.
Hamlin now gonna look for the lead! We ended up pushing Denny to the lead.
Half in front, won't block.
11's in front.
Still there.
Don't get too far out.
Still there, bottom.
You're clear now.
Seen him shoot through the middle at the beginning, and I'm like, "I can go and help him.
" I get to second fairly quick, and we're sitting there riding.
That's when, kind of, the races start.
24 trying to pop.
Stay patient with the 11.
Hamlin the new race leader.
He got a big shove from behind.
Much like in Las Vegas, the deck is being shuffled again here at Daytona International Speedway.
Bubba Wallace to the inside of Denny Hamlin.
He's gonna try to lead.
Green-and-white checkered flag flying at the start-finish line.
Chase Elliott led a bunch of laps.
He's gonna pick up the stage win here tonight at Daytona.
- Need a little water.
- 10-4.
Cool it down here.
Here's how they'll line up.
It'll be William Byron and Denny Hamlin on the front row with Kevin Harvick and Bubba Wallace lining up third and fourth.
Bub, as you know, little shy on fuel.
I got tire pressure.
No, that's good.
Weather looks to be a non-factor as well.
Keep racing hard.
Daytona lights up, and pace car to pit road.
We're ready to put them back under the green flag.
Pick up 22 in your mirror.
Here comes Bubba Wallace.
Best he's run all night.
Harvick is gonna bust a move.
He'll go to the outside lane.
Still there top.
Whatever you want.
Looking for drafting help, here it comes! He was really aggressive and pushed me for a little while.
He was an animal.
And we were able to go to the front.
Chastain comes to the bottom to block Blaney and Bubba and company, while Harvick gets the run in a challenge for the lead! I could see the intensity crank up for him.
It's a Toyota up front.
It's Bubba Wallace showing the way here at Daytona.
Twenty laps to go.
Caution flag will fly.
Two cars get together.
Caution comes out.
We do our pit stop.
Here come Toyotas.
Now it's like, the intensity starts to kind of amplify.
Fifteen to go, and all heck is gonna break loose.
We got a lot on the line right now, and I'm telling you what, when they drop that flag, it'll be, "Go as hard as you possibly can and take every chance you can take till the end of this race.
" You start to become a bit more aggressive.
You don't wanna give up spots.
Let the 8 come to you.
Then the wrecks start to happen.
Truex gets turned mid-pack, up and into the outside wall! He'll slide across the infield grass! Down, down, down.
Watch as he's coming across.
Check up.
It's ten to go, but something is going to happen.
Ten laps to go here at Daytona.
The field now picking up speed.
Green flag back in the air.
They're gonna wreck off turn four.
Leaders get together to the outside wall.
The pack blows apart off of turn four.
Nearly all the race leaders involved, spinning and crashing to the straightaway.
We had to come down pit road and miss the wreck.
Your track's blocked.
Pit road.
Watch him coming across.
Pit road.
We were able to escape through that.
It's like, "That was a pretty big crash, took out some good cars.
" "Is there gonna be another one?" Green goes in the air.
Outside lane is Buescher.
Inside lane is Ryan Blaney.
It's like, "Now all bets are off.
" You know, we have to win.
Go middle three.
Middle has momentum.
And just trying to just hold it wide open and whatever happens happens.
Then a wreck happens.
Here comes Suarez! He'll turn Harvick! The entire pack is crashing! And I had a split decision, avoid, do your best to pick your way through, or just say, "Fuck it," and accept that this is gonna be a hard hit, or hopefully make it through.
Shit starts doing this.
You're like "Fuck it.
Here we go.
" And I just gassed back up.
Through the smoke, can't see anything, and then, boom, we come out third.
Ryan Blaney winning.
Buescher, second.
This is unofficial.
Bubba Wallace, third.
And I was like, "Yes!" But then the race was over with.
Appreciate the effort all year.
Sucks it came down to that, but walk out of here with a top five, hopefully.
We're a little short on making the playoffs, but all of us gotta keep progressing, make sure we do that final ten strong.
You immediately go from, "It was awesome," to pissed off because you didn't win.
And so that was That was it.
I-I've been pissed off ever since because we didn't win.
You know, later that night, we found out that the 17 who finished second, he got DQ'd for an illegal part on the race car.
And you could see them, all race long, throwing sparks.
Come to find out, they got DQ'd for that part.
And so we ended up second, which makes it sting that much more.
Am I excited about finishing second? No.
Just because of the scenario that we were in.
And so that's, uh That was tough.
Bubba has a ceiling higher than what most people see, and maybe even what he sees.
I still believe that Bubba is a driver that will win races in the Cup Series.
He will make the playoffs in the course of his career.
He's gonna be that guy.
He's gonna be at the top level competing against the best in the world.
He has said to me, "That's all I want.
" "I want a chance to have the best and race against the best.
" I think he's excited about that, and I think he's in a great place right now.
Obviously, he's got a lot of weight on his shoulders, but we try to make sure that weight's off his shoulder, he can be a race car driver.
He stands on the shoulders of Jim Brown and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali, all these great athletes who, before him, were activists, and they spoke out, regardless of what it was gonna cost them in their sport.
So, I think that Bubba has a great list of people to follow, whose shoulders he can now stand on.
But I guarantee others are gonna stand on Bubba's shoulders, because he's inspiring the next generation, who feels like something needs to change for the better of everyone, to stand up.
And when they do, they'll be standing on the shoulders of Bubba Wallace.
- His engine? - Yep.
All the way, all the way.
I started in 2016 in the NASCAR Driver Diversity Program, and then I was, you know, the first Black woman NASCAR pit crew member.
I've always been, you know, a Bubba fan.
Knowing the history of NASCAR, you know, there's not that many Black people.
To have the one and only Black driver at the very highest level, the Cup Series, you know, making his mark You know, like, who wouldn't root for that, you know? The impact that Bubba has on me, from being the only Black driver in Cup right now, is someone to to look up to and to lean on, and really going through similar stuff.
You know, when all that stuff went down in June last year, seeing Bubba take that stand, it was gratifying, personally, because, you know, that was stuff that I've felt for a while Basically, for as as long as I can remember.
When I seen that, I was like, "My God.
" I'd never Just knowing what NASCAR was, like I'm Sorry.
Um Just knowing what NASCAR was before, and seeing that Like Like, it meant a lot, you know? Just From when I came to this sport, like It's like, I never thought I'd see the day that this would happen.
You know? So that's why I've been giving it chances and chances, that's why I didn't give up, because I wanted to finally see the day where change was happening, you know? And, um You know, I was like, "Oh my God.
" I was like, "Look at God.
" And, um, I'm I'm here for it.
If you think about what happened in 2020, Bubba emerged from being just a driver to being someone who was iconic, and it will be important for the sport, and he will be a decades-long important figure for NASCAR.
I think our sport, it-it belongs to everyone.
And Bubba is part of breaking through, from a diversity standpoint, in our sport.
What Bubba represents for NASCAR is something that has been needed for a long time, that just hasn't happened.
This is a perfect time for someone to come in and ask for change and make change happen.
It's people like Bubba that come along, that that change the way we think, and create new norms and create conversation.
It's just that people see.
People see what's going on with Bubba, and people see what's going on with those who wake us up and shake us and show us what else is possible.
Having Bubba Wallace in NASCAR is an asset to NASCAR.
Having Michael Jordan in NASCAR is an asset to NASCAR.
That it's not a sport for white people or Black people, it's a sport for everybody, and I think that's what everybody wants.
We just want inclusion.
So, 50 years from now, 100 years from now, what do you want people to know about Darrell Wallace Jr.
? I don't know.
A kid that wanted it bad.
And hopefully he can get it done.
When I started out, I didn't know if I'd be where I am today.
I wanted this to be a series to show what it takes to be successful.
Just have to wait till that day comes.
Keselowski gets a shove from Logano, as Kurt Busch will give the shove to Bubba! Wallace, the race leader, bottom of the track.
Back to the bottom, here comes Logano, full head of steam, at the middle.
It is official here at Talladega, and Bubba Wallace, the winner of the YellaWood 500 at Talladega.
- Bubba Wallace.
- Yeah! Let's go! Yeah! He's the second African American to ever win at the highest level of NASCAR.
- Let's go! - Proud of you! Over 50 years ago, Wendell Scott was the first.
This is to all those kids out there that wanna have an opportunity, in whatever they wanna achieve, and be the best at what they want to do.
You're gonna go through a lot of bullshit, um, but you always gotta stay true to your path, and not let the nonsense get to you.
And, uh, stay strong, stay humble, stay hungry.
Uh, plenty of times where I wanted to give up.
Surround yourself with the right people, and it's moments like this you appreciate.
You can always go back to the history books, and be like, "There's at least one win.
" One, two, three! Oh, oh my God I got to make it to the end It's far All my life, I've been counted out All my life it's been hard, hard Oh, hard, hard And oh my God I got to make it to the end It's far The sun is burning And it's getting hot Feeling so alone, alone There's only one thing left to do I put the pedal to the floor I put the pedal to the floor I put the pedal to the floor I put the pedal to the They're coming for my head Leaving just to see my shame I think they want me dead, dead But no, I won't give up And no, I can't give in I'm in my journey And God, you know I'm gonna win They're coming for my head Leaving just to see my shame I think they want me dead, dead But no, I won't give up To know I can't give in I'm in my journey And God, you know I'm gonna win I'm gonna win, oh
Looks like we're going on a golf trip.
Which I ain't complaining about.
Yes.
All right, let's do it.
Fore.
Thinking about playing golf gets me excited just like thinking about racing gets me excited.
Same way.
Gets you fired up.
And it's such a mental game.
I mean, these drivers, you gotta take mental breaks.
This sport is so demanding, not only from a physical perspective, but also from a mental capacity.
So, opportunities like this where you can get away just to have a mental reset.
It's so big.
It's crucial.
I need one of y'all behind me with the Shot Tracer, because I ain't gonna find half of them.
Golf, it's 95% mental, how you approach it, how you play through the game, and keep your mindset level-headed, you know, just like a race.
I tell you what, it's a great day for it.
How you approach the race is important.
Can't beat it.
If you show up like you're defeated, then you're gonna be defeated.
And so I try to do a better job of that, especially at some of the tougher courses.
Show up and be like, "I'm gonna hit good today.
" - That's a shot.
Come right.
Settle.
- Pulled that thing.
- That'll be all right.
- Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Mm.
Damn.
The cameras.
It was bad, and that's documented.
Kyle doesn't like playing with me, because I said the game is 95% mental and 5%, you know, skill.
Well, there's actually 150%, game of golf, 'cause the other 50% is shit-talking.
Oh, they're still filming you.
Good.
The walk of shame right there.
Bogey right here.
I need this.
- Missed it! - Oh! My God.
Fuck this game.
Oh, he sailed it.
No, he didn't.
Did he do it? Boom, baby! - Let's go! - Fuckin' bang, bang.
Hellacious par 5 coming up now.
These shots scare me.
Oh.
See ya.
- Don't fuck it up, Kyle.
- Oh shit.
No pressure.
Five dollars.
That's you back there? I swear, I hate this game, and I love this game.
Don't matter what you do.
Five dollars.
Nope.
- Right here.
- God Almighty, the pressure is real! Telling everybody how relaxing it is, and then after eight holes, everybody wants to kill each other, so I Like What other sport does that other than golf? Boom! Yes! Whoo! That was awesome.
Good game.
That saved my wallet.
Oh, ooh.
- This is the beginning.
- This is the new beginning.
- So, is it '22, '23 or what? - '22.
This is next year.
- Oh wow.
- This is Yeah.
Five months away.
My name is Kevin Liles, co-founder and CEO of 300 Entertainment and also partner in Prosports Management.
You know, the funny thing, people speak to me, "Kevin, I thought you were in the music business.
" NASCAR wasn't something that was in my mind or something that I was interested in until I got a call from one of my friends, and he said to me, "I have this kid, and he's the only African-American, you know, NASCAR driver, and one of my friends, Rod, he would love to talk to you about it.
" Through a connection of mine, was able to form a relationship with Kevin Liles.
As the former president of Def Jam Records, involved in the signing of Jay Z with Def Jam, and, uh, really a guy that had an extremely strong Rolodex, very creative, and felt that partnering with him, we would be able to effectively secure sponsorship for Bubba.
I was just thinking when we didn't have the right car, when we didn't have the sponsors, and now all of this.
So, I I haven't seen it in this form.
I know the car's leaving, but tell me about it.
Where are we now? So, we just loaded up some Pretty cool to see the golden arches on our car.
- Yes, that's - Yeah.
But, yeah.
No, this is it.
This is, uh, it's not just a blank race car.
In my eight-plus years representing Bubba, we were never able to secure the level of funding that Bubba would need to really compete with the best racers.
It's tough when people say, "Just be yourself, and don't change.
" "Sponsorship will come.
" It's all bullshit, 'cause, you know, I was way different than any other driver, not even a racial side of things, and nothing.
Sponsorship is the lifeblood of motorsports.
So, are you able to find a sponsor that identifies with your personality, identifies with your beliefs, with your values, and that you can be the face of that company? They were like, "Sponsorship will come.
Sponsorship will come.
" "Just go out and win.
When you win, that makes everything easier.
" Down the backstretch, Wallace almost a backstretch lead over second place Brendan Gaughan.
Out of turn number four, Darrell Wallace, Jr.
's gonna get his first win in the Camping World Truck Series.
When we won that race at Martinsville, I wasn't thinking about sponsorship.
I just knew we'd won a race.
Great.
Awesome.
Got that first win.
And today, Bubba Wallace picks up his third career win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Well, then, a week later, two weeks later, a month later I was like, "How've the phone lines been?" "Dead.
Nothing.
" I was like, "Huh.
So that theory's bullshit.
" There may have been some companies that may not have been ready to, you know, sort of hitch their wagon to Bubba, maybe based on race.
Felt like my timetable was getting smaller, 'cause the sponsorships didn't come, and so, uh, it wasn't until 2020 Wallace is NASCAR's only full-time Black driver, who's taking a stand African-American driver Wallace wore a T-shirt with Floyd's final words and "Black Lives Matter" on it.
Before the events of 2020, Bubba, outside of NASCAR, was likely not very well-known.
What's the next action, Bubba? I don't know.
Starts with Confederate flags.
Get them out.
No place for 'em.
When he found his voice, that started to change.
I said couple weeks ago that something changed inside of me to be an activist.
My mother said, "Ever believe you'd be an activist?" And I'm like, "No, not really," but, you know, I just felt something in my heart that I needed to step up.
Wallace will run a special Black Lives Matter paint scheme.
I haven't slept much thinking about this race.
Everything going into it, everything going on in the world.
Trying to race to change the world, so, see y'all at the end of this thing.
A historic night for Martinsville Speedway.
When I saw Bubba driving the Black Lives Matter car, I said, "Damn, this brother is going to get Kaepernicked.
" It's gonna be done.
Can't just sit silent just because everybody else is.
I have a responsibility.
It's automatic that I have a responsibility.
But, it was just the right time.
The groundswell was so sincere.
It forced a lot of companies to get some courage too.
Time is of the essence, and it's time to stand up for what's right.
After I hung up with Ty Dillon, management's calling me.
"Hey, man.
We got big people on the line.
" Like, "No shit.
Hmm.
" The conversations started to significantly increase.
In fact, in my 25-plus years of representing athletes, I've never seen anything quite like it.
I didn't even know this.
Before the season started, you didn't have a sponsor for every race.
Suffice to say you do now.
We are really, really proud to announce, uh, the partnership with DoorDash.
They will be jumping on our race car for seven races this year, multi-year deal.
I was personally inspired by Bubba, and as a company, we were inspired.
We felt that there was a lot of shared values around the things that Bubba stood for and things that DoorDash stands for.
We'd been looking at NASCAR for a couple years, but hadn't yet found a way to line up the things we cared about with the things that NASCAR, as a league, cared about.
When Bubba emerged, it felt like the right moment to engage with the sport.
It made this a no-brainer when we came out and said, "We're going to sponsor Bubba Wallace.
" DoorDash, Columbia, Root, Dr.
Pepper, McDonald's stepped up.
Black McDonald's owners were aware that we had an uber-talented driver, who wasn't necessarily getting all the resources and the sponsors that he needed to be successful.
People saw there was an opportunity to be part of the change happening in the sport.
There was an opportunity to take the work Bubba was doing and help supercharge it.
How do you respond to the request that you apologize? It's so good to be back in Nashville, so good to be back at the Nashville Superspeedway.
The place sold out, fans have been filing in since daybreak, and they're ready for 300 laps.
And so are we.
At this point in the season, we still have a handful of races to go.
Still looking for that first win, trying to get ourselves in the playoffs.
We quickly realized, even when you have the best stuff in the garage, the sport is still tough.
And here they come, all the eyes on the flag stand.
Ready green, green.
Green flag goes in the air.
Everybody diving and darting for position going into turn one.
- Let's go to work.
- Yes, sir! Let's talk about Nashville.
What happened? Oh, dude.
Ryan Blaney's up into the wall.
He slips high out of the groove, slaps the safer barrier.
And two cars into the safer barrier in turn number two.
Lot of people had brake failures.
Brakes getting too hot, exploding.
When the brake rotor explodes, I mean, pieces of the rotor are flying.
And the 99 was passing us on the front stretch, so I just went to run high, and I had seen a piece of brake rotor laying on the track, like, last minute, and I went to turn I'm thinking, "I ran over that brake rotor," but I'm not gonna say it over the radio.
Gonna get by with it.
Two laps later Tire, tire! Just stay up.
You're gonna roll the best you can.
Turn two, Bubba Wallace has a tire down on the DoorDash machine.
He spins down to the bottom of the track, slides back into the middle of the groove.
Everybody checks up.
Everybody makes it by.
A wild ride out of turn two for Bubba Wallace.
That will put us under the caution flag for the sixth time here this afternoon.
They don't clean up rotor parts on the front stretch! Piss-poor job by them! Fuckin' pathetic.
Exchange the fuckin' lefts.
Left side.
It's left side to pick it up.
It was just like one thing after another.
Three, two, one.
Stand to only lose one lap here.
Bit of fender damage.
We'll work on it.
Everything is still there.
Still in the game.
Start at the back again.
We are one of three cars, one lap down.
10-4.
And like every 45 minutes, it's just, like, punched in the gut.
You're on the inside of the 34, and the 38 gets a little out of shape.
Inside.
He's got the 7 pushing him.
34 cuts down as I'm under him, spins us out.
Trouble straightaway.
Bubba Wallace loses the handle coming off turn number two, slides down into the infield grass, ends up pointed north in the southbound lane, now gets it righted, and will try and pull away.
And cautions on the speedway for the tenth time today.
You can't fucking cut down when somebody's underneath you! I've had enough of that motherfucker and this motherfucking day.
And we go to the back again.
So, it was just Nashville sucked.
And Kyle Larson wins the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Okay, Bub.
P-21.
Cool that motor down, please.
We're gonna need it again.
I know it was a rough day, but, uh, we need some help here.
I've learned my lesson a couple times passing out, when I'm mad and frustrated and I get out of the car too quick and walk over and talk about it, and then I just pass out.
Shit.
One thing after another, all day.
Four hours of just getting punched in the face.
You all right? Just sore.
Sore from just getting my fucking ass kicked today.
These race cars can get up to 140 degrees inside of them.
It's super hot, and it's obviously gonna wear you out, especially in Nashville, where it was over a hundred on the heat index, so I can't imagine how hot it was in the car, but it's just a matter of just being drained, you know, dehydrated after the race.
To sit in that thing for four hours, trying to be competitive, it's a different kind of conditioning.
Lot of guys question if these guys are athletes or not.
Try sitting in your car for four hours with the windows rolled up, and crank the heat on as hard as you can, and see how much you like it riding around 50 miles an hour, let alone riding around at 150 miles an hour.
Bubba, he calls me, like, "Hey, I wanna catch up.
I wanna chat.
" He started telling me, "I don't know, man.
" "It's like, the anxiety has been high, the depression has been high.
" So I'm telling him, like, "You gotta stop right there.
You need help.
" "Obviously, that's something you need to take very seriously.
" And he's like, "There's just such a negative stigma on getting help.
" You know, "I don't wanna be that guy that has to talk to somebody because he's got emotional issues.
" I was like, "Man, I think you have some demons inside of you.
" "We need to get those addressed.
" "You're just torturing yourself.
" He's like, "No, I'm fine.
I don't need to worry about it.
" Come on.
And, like, now he's in shambles again.
So, it's tough.
Hello, sir.
How are you? Half the battle is actually showing up.
So, thanks for continuing to do that.
Recapping what transpired three days ago I think that I-I swear to y'all the results were fucking awful.
I hate them, and I know that You know, our strategy was fucked.
I know where our ceiling is here, and it is way higher than what we're actually finishing.
Expectations What do I say? "Don't have them, and you won't be disappointed.
" And yeah, I still get 'em.
It's like, fuck, how far are we gonna fall here? We'll be fine.
It's it's the mental side of things, and it's just, like, fucking A.
Guarantee if we have just a smooth race where it's If we run 25th all day, I'll be pissed.
Yeah, sure.
But if we just gotta focus.
Help me keep the focus there.
So, y'all help me on that, because I am just fucking gone that way.
Bubba, do you think it would be helpful if we had, like, someone to help check emotions at times? I don't know, dawg.
I don't I don't know.
I need help.
Dude, there's there's a lot of shit up here that that takes me out, that I'm working on, but I need help.
I-I think that Bubba has a lot of pressure.
Listen, we all have pressure in this situation.
You cannot run 20th for forever.
We have gotta We've gotta bounce back when adversity hits us.
That is the difference in the greats and the and the people that don't.
Jesus Christ.
That's all we're praying for at this point is a clean race, but it's going to come from us making making sure that happens, right? Yeah.
Oh, fuck.
You know, I let a lot of outside influences influence me, to piss me off, or kind of put me in a in a bad mental state.
At the beginning of the year, I says, you know, "Stop trying to prove haters wrong.
You will always have haters.
" Ultimately, you're gonna think about that while you're driving a race car.
"You can't do this, you can't do that.
" And you make a mistake.
I'm imagining right now he's not in a good place.
That's why I sent him the text.
It's the text from Mom.
"I've been looking at some old footage of you.
" "It just amazes me how far you've come.
" "Just remember the humble beginnings from which you came from.
" Embrace that and go back to those humble beginnings when you were winning, when you were loving racing.
I said, "And then everything else will come full circle.
" "Go get 'em, tiger.
Today is a good day for a win.
Love you, son.
" Her "Go get 'em, tiger" is she's said that from day one.
And so that's, like, a insider for us.
Race for Bubba.
Ready to call the action this afternoon on a beautiful Sunday afternoon from Pocono Raceway.
Pocono is one of those tracks Pocono is my I don't know what.
I guess it's my, uh, kryptonite.
So I think it was 2018, and then I just about died there.
I had a moment where I was terrified, like I'd never been terrified before.
I've been scared before from somebody jumping at you, but terrified thinking that you were going to die.
Pocono's front stretch is the longest straightaway anywhere we go.
And so, you're pushing 180, and my brakes exploded.
And then, in that split moment, you have a decision of turn right and run into the wall or try to cut through the infield and get to the back stretch.
I was 50 yards away from hitting the fence head-on at 160 at that time.
- And it's like - "This is it.
" Oh! No brakes.
Bubba Wallace slams the wall! Dale, you have to assume, seeing the 43 in the grass, he's trying to do anything to slow that car down, and what a heavy, heavy impact into that safer barrier.
Terrified, when you have the sheer look of terror on your face, and you're just saying, "I'm gonna die.
That's it.
" It's just really frightening.
And that is the greatest view we could possibly see.
The window net coming down.
This was a massive hit.
As a mom, when they're going around, and I see wrecks, the first thing I look for, "Was the 43 in it?" Now, this year, "Is the 23 in it?" That is the first thing that I look for to make sure that he is okay.
Now, when I'm at the track, I walk around my baby's car.
I pray over it.
I pray over the front, the side, the back, the top.
I do all of that.
And then I pray for all the drivers.
I don't just pray for my son.
I pray for all the drivers, 'cause I don't want to see anybody hurt.
I've always said, "I never thought I'd be one of these people.
" If anything ever happened to Bubba out there on the track, and he was to lose his life, I would be one of those I understand now.
He died doing what he loved to do.
We climb in each and every day, and in the back of our minds, we know it could potentially be our last race.
But we have no fear.
We go out and do it.
Lord, we getting ready to do it again.
The 19th race of the 2021 season ready to go under the green flag.
The Pocono Raceway, here they come.
Now, 200, 100 feet shy of the start-finish line.
Green flag goes in the air.
Take care of fuel.
Got half-mile of straightaway.
Five on the front of Ryan.
May stack the tunnel up a bit, so be ready for it.
Take care of fuel.
Save big at the start-finish line.
My spotter and my crew chief were on me hard about saving fuel.
Every lap, they were telling me, "Do not go full throttle.
" Save fuel for me here, got a long plan here.
Strategy is a big part of where you finish.
Do fuel on the green and work on damage only.
No tires.
Do 4 at the stage.
Only need three seconds of fuel.
The engineering staff on the pit box, they know exactly what lap we're gonna run out of fuel at.
Ultimately, the 23 team made the decision to save fuel there, and it was a gamble.
Five, three, two, one.
We pit and filled our car up with fuel.
Take a fuel number, what you know, as a race team with your engineering staff, when you know what your fuel mileage is, and then work backwards from the advertised distance.
There's no worse feeling than when you think you calculated it right, and your car starts to stumble on fuel.
I don't know if you've run out of fuel on the highway.
About the same feeling.
Bubba Wallace has to conserve to get it the final six laps.
Towards the end, the strategy came into play, because the last time we pitted was gonna put us right at running out of fuel as we cross the line.
And so, a lot of guys were in a bad situation as to where they were gonna have to pit again.
And so we would pass all those guys.
Lot of fingernails being bitten to the quick now, trying to get to the end of this race.
Laps are drawing to a close.
Question is, does everybody have enough fuel to go? Gets down to the last couple laps, and I remember Freddie saying, "12 car's coming.
 Blaney's coming.
" I'm running him down, like the last handful of laps.
Beat the 12.
Beat him off of turn three.
Beat the 12.
Green light.
My crew chief was like, "You got the green light to flip your fuel switch and haul ass back around.
" Getting down to the nitty-gritty in Pocono.
We have a fuel switch in the car that gives us one lap of extra fuel.
And so Blaney gets to the inside of me.
And I drop the hammer and take off.
Got to my last lap and couldn't pass.
So I was bitter about it, but happy for him at the same time.
I said, "You sandbagging son of a bitch.
Had to pick it up when I got to you.
" Go to pump 2.
Green light.
Hard as you can.
And ended up beating him.
Here's your slow one.
Racing the 41.
Clear by 5 on the 12.
Once we knew we were in the green to take off and race back around, it was like a big sigh of relief.
One more good exit.
Don't burn on the 12 or jack up with 41.
Kyle Busch looks to the outside! Hamlin! Hamlin's out of gas! Hamlin bobbles out of 2! And they're headed to 3! Here comes Busch, now looking to the outside.
I was like, "All right, sweet.
Seventh, eighth, whatever.
" And Kyle Busch wins at Pocono! They were like, "P-5!" And I was like, "Oh, shit.
Awesome.
" I had no idea.
- P-5.
Nice job, Bub.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah! Yeah! Good job! Harvick, fourth.
Wallace was fifth.
Needed that.
Appreciate the coaching.
Y'all got annoying, but damn, I needed it.
Thank you, Freddie.
Thank you, Wheels.
Good job, everybody.
A big payday.
It's so stressful for the crew chiefs, engineers, all of us.
Coming home with the first top-five, top-ten of the year, which was big.
Well we survived that one.
Second day at Pocono.
Proud of our team.
Executed.
Strategy came into, uh, play there heavily, and, uh, think we crossed the line with fumes, but, uh, just just proud of everybody.
It was a great feeling to finally get their first top-five there at Pocono.
If we can have Bubba running in the top ten more consistently, that's gonna be a good first year for us and a good building block, and I think we're very capable of that.
We're on the cusp of it now.
What, what, what? Hey.
All right.
So, where am I meeting you? Gonna meet Lauletta and Wheels for a quick lunch before our comp meeting.
A lot of what we're gonna talk about is structure for expansion.
We're heading into a different time, different era, starting in 2022, and hopefully we adapt quicker than others.
Come on.
Minivan parking.
Yes! Oh, look at this.
Chicks are gonna dig it when I come out of this minivan.
Thank you.
Yeah.
- It's not a priority, but - No, I That's why I had the conversation with you last week saying, like, "Tell me what help you need, but let's make sure" Like, he's saying, let's hire the key guys we want in - That can do those positions.
- Senior roles.
- Hundred percent.
- Yeah.
Ultimately, we need you focused on, right now, that 23 car, 'cause it is the most important key factor - Yep.
- in this whole thing working.
So I don't wanna stretch you too thin.
So, I'm saying tell me what you need, and I'll go get them.
2021, we were just a one-car team with Bubba Wallace, an upstart team.
Things move quickly.
We're now gonna be a two-car team in 2022 with, uh, Kurt Busch as his teammate.
Kurt Busch is gonna win the Brother Duel! He wins in Atlanta! That's how you do it! Way to go, guys! If I get it started, I'mma finish I'm the landlord, you a tenant You think you got game, you a Kurt Busch, a champion, a veteran of 20 years of Cup racing.
He'd be on the top of the list for any team.
Kurt Busch will win! This is what a team does to win a championship.
Kurt Busch wins the Daytona 500.
- Unreal.
- That was awesome.
Hell yeah! Warning.
Well, I expect Bubba to step up his game.
And, you know, the results are really gonna be, uh, looking at his teammate as a barometer of where he needs to be.
This season wasn't consistent enough to point our way in.
We had some top-ten runs, top-15 runs, but we also had some top-20 and top-25, so we're just all over the board.
What is it going to take for the 23 team to make the playoffs? For him, at this point in the season, we look at it and say, "You gotta win.
" Getting set for the 148th point race on the Daytona oval tonight.
It's the regular season finale and the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
We start the season with the Daytona 500, Super Bowl of our season, but then to end the regular season, we go back to Daytona.
A ton of hype.
A lot on the line.
Since it's the last race of the regular season, it's a lot of drivers' last chance to get into the playoffs if you win.
Fifteen drivers locked into the playoffs, nothing to lose.
Two more that can race in on points.
All they can do is send it from his employee, that's Bubba Wallace, who's up to second.
that's to win.
I know that we can win.
Feeling good about it, feeling confident, and ready to go perform.
With the crowd on their feet, all eyes on the flag stand, and the green flag is out, and we are underway.
Drop the green flag, immediately try to charge to the front.
Denny Hamlin, he'll go charging up the gut.
Hamlin now gonna look for the lead! We ended up pushing Denny to the lead.
Half in front, won't block.
11's in front.
Still there.
Don't get too far out.
Still there, bottom.
You're clear now.
Seen him shoot through the middle at the beginning, and I'm like, "I can go and help him.
" I get to second fairly quick, and we're sitting there riding.
That's when, kind of, the races start.
24 trying to pop.
Stay patient with the 11.
Hamlin the new race leader.
He got a big shove from behind.
Much like in Las Vegas, the deck is being shuffled again here at Daytona International Speedway.
Bubba Wallace to the inside of Denny Hamlin.
He's gonna try to lead.
Green-and-white checkered flag flying at the start-finish line.
Chase Elliott led a bunch of laps.
He's gonna pick up the stage win here tonight at Daytona.
- Need a little water.
- 10-4.
Cool it down here.
Here's how they'll line up.
It'll be William Byron and Denny Hamlin on the front row with Kevin Harvick and Bubba Wallace lining up third and fourth.
Bub, as you know, little shy on fuel.
I got tire pressure.
No, that's good.
Weather looks to be a non-factor as well.
Keep racing hard.
Daytona lights up, and pace car to pit road.
We're ready to put them back under the green flag.
Pick up 22 in your mirror.
Here comes Bubba Wallace.
Best he's run all night.
Harvick is gonna bust a move.
He'll go to the outside lane.
Still there top.
Whatever you want.
Looking for drafting help, here it comes! He was really aggressive and pushed me for a little while.
He was an animal.
And we were able to go to the front.
Chastain comes to the bottom to block Blaney and Bubba and company, while Harvick gets the run in a challenge for the lead! I could see the intensity crank up for him.
It's a Toyota up front.
It's Bubba Wallace showing the way here at Daytona.
Twenty laps to go.
Caution flag will fly.
Two cars get together.
Caution comes out.
We do our pit stop.
Here come Toyotas.
Now it's like, the intensity starts to kind of amplify.
Fifteen to go, and all heck is gonna break loose.
We got a lot on the line right now, and I'm telling you what, when they drop that flag, it'll be, "Go as hard as you possibly can and take every chance you can take till the end of this race.
" You start to become a bit more aggressive.
You don't wanna give up spots.
Let the 8 come to you.
Then the wrecks start to happen.
Truex gets turned mid-pack, up and into the outside wall! He'll slide across the infield grass! Down, down, down.
Watch as he's coming across.
Check up.
It's ten to go, but something is going to happen.
Ten laps to go here at Daytona.
The field now picking up speed.
Green flag back in the air.
They're gonna wreck off turn four.
Leaders get together to the outside wall.
The pack blows apart off of turn four.
Nearly all the race leaders involved, spinning and crashing to the straightaway.
We had to come down pit road and miss the wreck.
Your track's blocked.
Pit road.
Watch him coming across.
Pit road.
We were able to escape through that.
It's like, "That was a pretty big crash, took out some good cars.
" "Is there gonna be another one?" Green goes in the air.
Outside lane is Buescher.
Inside lane is Ryan Blaney.
It's like, "Now all bets are off.
" You know, we have to win.
Go middle three.
Middle has momentum.
And just trying to just hold it wide open and whatever happens happens.
Then a wreck happens.
Here comes Suarez! He'll turn Harvick! The entire pack is crashing! And I had a split decision, avoid, do your best to pick your way through, or just say, "Fuck it," and accept that this is gonna be a hard hit, or hopefully make it through.
Shit starts doing this.
You're like "Fuck it.
Here we go.
" And I just gassed back up.
Through the smoke, can't see anything, and then, boom, we come out third.
Ryan Blaney winning.
Buescher, second.
This is unofficial.
Bubba Wallace, third.
And I was like, "Yes!" But then the race was over with.
Appreciate the effort all year.
Sucks it came down to that, but walk out of here with a top five, hopefully.
We're a little short on making the playoffs, but all of us gotta keep progressing, make sure we do that final ten strong.
You immediately go from, "It was awesome," to pissed off because you didn't win.
And so that was That was it.
I-I've been pissed off ever since because we didn't win.
You know, later that night, we found out that the 17 who finished second, he got DQ'd for an illegal part on the race car.
And you could see them, all race long, throwing sparks.
Come to find out, they got DQ'd for that part.
And so we ended up second, which makes it sting that much more.
Am I excited about finishing second? No.
Just because of the scenario that we were in.
And so that's, uh That was tough.
Bubba has a ceiling higher than what most people see, and maybe even what he sees.
I still believe that Bubba is a driver that will win races in the Cup Series.
He will make the playoffs in the course of his career.
He's gonna be that guy.
He's gonna be at the top level competing against the best in the world.
He has said to me, "That's all I want.
" "I want a chance to have the best and race against the best.
" I think he's excited about that, and I think he's in a great place right now.
Obviously, he's got a lot of weight on his shoulders, but we try to make sure that weight's off his shoulder, he can be a race car driver.
He stands on the shoulders of Jim Brown and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali, all these great athletes who, before him, were activists, and they spoke out, regardless of what it was gonna cost them in their sport.
So, I think that Bubba has a great list of people to follow, whose shoulders he can now stand on.
But I guarantee others are gonna stand on Bubba's shoulders, because he's inspiring the next generation, who feels like something needs to change for the better of everyone, to stand up.
And when they do, they'll be standing on the shoulders of Bubba Wallace.
- His engine? - Yep.
All the way, all the way.
I started in 2016 in the NASCAR Driver Diversity Program, and then I was, you know, the first Black woman NASCAR pit crew member.
I've always been, you know, a Bubba fan.
Knowing the history of NASCAR, you know, there's not that many Black people.
To have the one and only Black driver at the very highest level, the Cup Series, you know, making his mark You know, like, who wouldn't root for that, you know? The impact that Bubba has on me, from being the only Black driver in Cup right now, is someone to to look up to and to lean on, and really going through similar stuff.
You know, when all that stuff went down in June last year, seeing Bubba take that stand, it was gratifying, personally, because, you know, that was stuff that I've felt for a while Basically, for as as long as I can remember.
When I seen that, I was like, "My God.
" I'd never Just knowing what NASCAR was, like I'm Sorry.
Um Just knowing what NASCAR was before, and seeing that Like Like, it meant a lot, you know? Just From when I came to this sport, like It's like, I never thought I'd see the day that this would happen.
You know? So that's why I've been giving it chances and chances, that's why I didn't give up, because I wanted to finally see the day where change was happening, you know? And, um You know, I was like, "Oh my God.
" I was like, "Look at God.
" And, um, I'm I'm here for it.
If you think about what happened in 2020, Bubba emerged from being just a driver to being someone who was iconic, and it will be important for the sport, and he will be a decades-long important figure for NASCAR.
I think our sport, it-it belongs to everyone.
And Bubba is part of breaking through, from a diversity standpoint, in our sport.
What Bubba represents for NASCAR is something that has been needed for a long time, that just hasn't happened.
This is a perfect time for someone to come in and ask for change and make change happen.
It's people like Bubba that come along, that that change the way we think, and create new norms and create conversation.
It's just that people see.
People see what's going on with Bubba, and people see what's going on with those who wake us up and shake us and show us what else is possible.
Having Bubba Wallace in NASCAR is an asset to NASCAR.
Having Michael Jordan in NASCAR is an asset to NASCAR.
That it's not a sport for white people or Black people, it's a sport for everybody, and I think that's what everybody wants.
We just want inclusion.
So, 50 years from now, 100 years from now, what do you want people to know about Darrell Wallace Jr.
? I don't know.
A kid that wanted it bad.
And hopefully he can get it done.
When I started out, I didn't know if I'd be where I am today.
I wanted this to be a series to show what it takes to be successful.
Just have to wait till that day comes.
Keselowski gets a shove from Logano, as Kurt Busch will give the shove to Bubba! Wallace, the race leader, bottom of the track.
Back to the bottom, here comes Logano, full head of steam, at the middle.
It is official here at Talladega, and Bubba Wallace, the winner of the YellaWood 500 at Talladega.
- Bubba Wallace.
- Yeah! Let's go! Yeah! He's the second African American to ever win at the highest level of NASCAR.
- Let's go! - Proud of you! Over 50 years ago, Wendell Scott was the first.
This is to all those kids out there that wanna have an opportunity, in whatever they wanna achieve, and be the best at what they want to do.
You're gonna go through a lot of bullshit, um, but you always gotta stay true to your path, and not let the nonsense get to you.
And, uh, stay strong, stay humble, stay hungry.
Uh, plenty of times where I wanted to give up.
Surround yourself with the right people, and it's moments like this you appreciate.
You can always go back to the history books, and be like, "There's at least one win.
" One, two, three! Oh, oh my God I got to make it to the end It's far All my life, I've been counted out All my life it's been hard, hard Oh, hard, hard And oh my God I got to make it to the end It's far The sun is burning And it's getting hot Feeling so alone, alone There's only one thing left to do I put the pedal to the floor I put the pedal to the floor I put the pedal to the floor I put the pedal to the They're coming for my head Leaving just to see my shame I think they want me dead, dead But no, I won't give up And no, I can't give in I'm in my journey And God, you know I'm gonna win They're coming for my head Leaving just to see my shame I think they want me dead, dead But no, I won't give up To know I can't give in I'm in my journey And God, you know I'm gonna win I'm gonna win, oh