Bubba Wallace’s “knees were trembling” when he cast his ballot in his first presidential election. NASCAR’s only Black full-time driver didn’t watch the news before this summer, one of national unrest over politics and racial justice.
He tuned in and quickly became an unwitting national activist. Wallace successfully called on NASCAR to ban the display of the Confederate Flag at races, ran a “Black Lives Matter” paint scheme and became the central figure in a sport facing its own racial reckoning.
Wallace overnight had a national audience for his “Peace. Love. Understanding,” mantra and a position to exact change.