The first time NASCAR driver Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. was on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon this week, he said NASCAR’s next step in demonstrating its commitment to fighting racism needed to be banning the Confederate flag. The next time he appeared on Lemon’s show later in the week, he described the positive reaction he’s seen to NASCAR banning the flag Wednesday.
Multiple times this week, Wallace has explained that he wanted the governing body to ban the flag because it doesn’t create a welcoming or inclusive environment at race tracks — something NASCAR itself is trying to push — and it makes people uncomfortable.
“No one should feel uncomfortable when they come to a NASCAR race,” Wallace said Monday night on CNN. “So it starts with Confederate flags. Get them out of here. They have no place for them.”
NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace says he’s “getting a lot of positive outreach” after NASCAR banned the display of Confederate flags at races, but also says “we are getting the fans that will never watch a NASCAR race again. The same fans that never watched the NFL after the kneeling” pic.twitter.com/iZvrMC1tYd
— CNN (@CNN) June 13, 2020
And when Wallace — the only African American driver at NASCAR’s top level — returned to Lemon’s show Friday night, he detailed the response he’s witnessed from NASCAR fans after the symbol of racism and slavery was banned. He told Lemon:
“You’re getting both sides of it. You’re getting a lot of positive outreach, a lot of positive impact and gaining new fans as we go. And then you’re getting the fans that will never watch a NASCAR race again, the same fans that never watched the NFL after the kneeling, the same fans that are crying out that we’re ruining their lives and just throwing a pity party, as [opposed to] accepting change and understanding why we need this change and why it’s such a pivotal moment for our country. …
“It’s on a global level that this is an impact. So I’m excited about the change. I wish fans could come back ASAP just so we could see the demographic and who shows up, what shows up, everybody who shows up. I just want to see and hear what they have to say. But through social media, you’re getting both sides of the story, but there’s, obviously, more good than there is bad. So I’m excited about it.”
NASCAR’s commitment last weekend to fighting racism and its subsequent ban on the Confederate flag are in response to protests that have erupted in the last few weeks around the country and world against racism and police brutality.
In addition to leading the effort to get NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag, Wallace has also used NASCAR’s races this week to raise awareness about racial injustice. At Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday and at Martinsville Speedway on Wednesday, Wallace wore a black t-shirt with “I Can’t Breathe” and “Black Lives Matter” written on the front of it.
And at the Martinsville race — the same day NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its events — he also ran a #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme on his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet.
Wallace and the NASCAR Cup Series next race is Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
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