Bubba Wallace got an early birthday present, as he officially won the first race of his NASCAR Cup Series career on Monday at Talladega Superspeedway.
After the Yellawood 500 was postponed from Sunday to Monday because of rain, Mother Nature struck again, and NASCAR had to pause multiple times on the second day. And when the race couldn’t continue after 117 laps because of pouring rain, Wallace was declared the winner.
It was also the first win for 23XI Racing, co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, in its debut season.
“YEAH! LET’S GO!” Wallace yelled from his pit box with his team once the race was officially called.
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— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) October 4, 2021
In his fourth full-time Cup Series season, this was his sixth career top-5 finish. And the rain-shortened race doesn’t detract from a huge career victory for Wallace, who turns 28 on Oct. 8.
Wallace told NBC Sports after he was declared the winner:
“So many cool fans behind us in the pit box just cheering for it to rain, and it kind of amped up the intensity a little bit. But man, just so proud of everybody at 23XI. New team coming in and getting a win late in the season. Reminds me of 2013, waited so long to get that first Truck [Series] win.
“I know a lot of history was made today, I believe, which is really cool. But it’s about my guys, about our team, about what we’ve done. Appreciate Michael Jordan, appreciate Denny for believing in me, giving me an opportunity. Like we talked is pretty thing when it comes here today.”
In a white-male-dominated sport, Wallace is currently the only Black driver in the Cup Series, and he’s just the second Black driver to win a NASCAR race at the premier level, following Wendell Scott’s 1963 victory (technically listed as part of the 1964 season).
"Just proud to be a winner in the Cup Series."
An emotional @BubbaWallace at @Talladega. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/b2O4QpCDMa
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 4, 2021
When that stat was recited to him after he won, Wallace became emotional and continued:
“I never think about those things, and when you say like that, it obviously brings a lot of emotion, a lot of joy to my family, fans, friends. It’s pretty damn cool. So just proud to be a winner Cup Series.”
Weather is often a factor for NASCAR, and for a race to be official, at least half the total scheduled laps *or* the first two race stages need to be completed — whichever comes first. So while the Talladega race Monday ended with three laps remaining in stage two, it had already crossed the halfway point of 188 total laps.
When drivers pulled onto pit road because rain prevented them from continuing to race, Wallace exited his No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota and began doing a little rain dance, totally aware of what was at stake.
'@BubbaWallace is doing the rain dance, leading past the halfway mark. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/nEpYd1Q0pY
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 4, 2021
He also was greeted by drivers like Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Hamlin, and they all seemed excited about the possibility of Wallace leading a rain-shortened race.
The No. 23 has the lead as rain continues to fall at @TALLADEGA. @BubbaWallace chats with @NASCARonNBC during this delay. (📺: NBCSN) pic.twitter.com/6zxdxNYd89
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 4, 2021
For a brief, relaxed interview with Wallace before the race was officially called, he told NBC Sports:
“When you get like a tire vibration or you feel something go wrong, I’m a big believer in: Don’t talk about it, it won’t happen. And so I want it to rain. I want that to happen, but as far as it being official I’m not going to talk about it. …
“We’ve been we’ve been a decent plate racer, and I told my team I want to be one of those good plate racers this go around, and [spotter] Freddie [Kraft] did a hell of a job up on the roof to get us this far. Appreciate Brad [Keselowski] there pushing us. Me and Ryan [Blaney] played ping pong with Joey and Tom, his dad, last night, and they beat us, and so I owe him some money if we do win.”
Well, it’s time for Wallace to pay up, but we’re guessing that doesn’t mean much now that he has a race win on his resume.
Plus, Wallace already showed off his skills and a little bit of luck missing this massive disaster at Talladega earlier in the race Monday.
A reminder @BubbaWallace drove through this wreck and found his way to the front before the red flag came out for rain. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/cjfxao3G9z
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 4, 2021
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