Bubba Wallace becomes 1st Black driver to win NASCAR Cup Series since 1963

[Stephan Bobb]

Bubba Wallace becomes 1st Black driver to win NASCAR Cup Series since 1963

By David Close and Theresa Waldrop, CNN

Updated 9:34 AM ET, Tue October 5, 2021

Bubba Wallace on Monday became the second Black driver to win NASCAR's Cup Series race.

(CNN)Bubba Wallace made history Monday, becoming just the second Black driver to win NASCAR's Cup Series race, the association's top series.

Wallace is the first Black person to win the Cup Series since 1963, when NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Wendell Scott led the race.

"Talladega, we're winners," Wallace said in a video posted on the Twitter account of Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway, where the race took place. "What a perfect weekend, or weekday, I should say. I just knew something about it."

Wallace was born in Alabama. And last year at the same track, a noose was found in his garage stall, prompting an FBI hate-crime investigation.

Bubba Wallace responds to FBI findings: 'Whether tied in 2019, or w...

Just after the race, Wallace thanked his team and the owners, sports legend Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, for the opportunity.

"It's pretty fitting that it comes here in Talladega," he said.

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