01x03 - Driving While Black

[bunniefuu]

[2010 Greenville announcer] Jake Crum,
Ryan Gifford, Darrell Wallace Jr.,

Eddie MacDonald, Patrick Long.

Let's give all these drivers
a warm welcome!

- [crowd cheering]
- [thrilling music playing]

[2010 Greenville announcer]
With this mixture of rookies and veterans,

who knows what, uh,
we'll have here tonight?

That's what makes it fun.

You look over the lineup and say,

"Okay, who's it going to be
in a couple of years?"

"Who'll we be talking about?"

[Desi] Looking back
when I would go to the track,

there were not a lot of Black people.

Sometimes, it was just Bubba and myself.

[2010 Greenville announcer]
Gentlemen, start your engines!

[car engines revving]

[Desi] I started to have questions
about that in my mind.

I never said anything, really, out loud.

[2010 Greenville spotter, on radio]
Ready... green, green!

[Desi] Until one incident after a race.

They were loading up the cars,
you know, getting ready to go,

and I looked in the stands,
and it was so many Black people.

This is after everybody had gone,
and they were cleaning up the trash.

And I said,
"Bub, turn around and look in the stands."

I said, "What do you see?"

"People cleaning the stands."
I said, "What color are they?"

He said, "Ma!" He was like,
"They're Black. What's the big deal?"

I said, "I guarantee you they don't even
know that there's a Black driver here."

I said, "This is what you're here for."

"They need to know we've got
somebody out there that looks like us."

[2010 Greenville spotter, on radio]
Get that checkered, Bubba! Hell of a job!

Whoo!

[2010 Greenville sports reporter]
Darrell Wallace Jr. picks up his first win

in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.

[Wallace] Oh, my God. This is amazing.

Um, ya know, first of all, I thank
the fans for everybody coming out.

It was awesome.

[Desi] I'd been telling Bubba
over the years,

since that time
I had him look up in the stands...

Yeah!

[Desi] ...God is going to use you

in a more powerful way
than just you in this race car.

I don't know what it is,
but he has a bigger stage for you.

And this is gonna be
your platform to use it.

[firecrackers exploding]

[dark instrumentals]

[bright tone]

[cicadas chirping]

[drums pounding]

[Wallace] I remember... getting my first
drum set when I was 11.

I got a, uh, Roland T-something.

It was a... an electric kit.
I've always loved the drums.

[drums pounding rhythmically]

So disappointing
'cause I lost my touch to drumming.

[drums pounding in upbeat rhythm]

I haven't played in so long.

My legs are like noodles.

♪ Been dying to tell you anything ♪

[laughing]

♪ Just who I am this week ♪

[singing indistinctly, laughing]

Much respect to all the drummers
and all the musicians and bands,

because that is nerve-racking as hell.

[drums tapping lightly]

Way more nerve-racking
than my first Daytona 500,

if that tells you anything. No doubt.

[drums pounding]

[Wallace] When you're in front of a crowd,
you're the tempo of the deal.

Like, everybody's watching you,
and you mess up, it's like, "Oh, no."

It's embarrassing.

Now everybody's...
The guitars are off, everything.

[drums tapping rapidly]

[producer] That the same when you drive?

We're goin' so fast people can't see it.
[mocking laughter]

You get loose, "Ahh, I messed up."
But you can't see it.

Little bobble, then you make it back up.

You can't restart the song.

That's why we get 400 laps,
'cause we mess up 399 of them.

[drums pounding rhythmically]

[Wheeler] Daytona went pretty smooth.

We qualified the best of the Toyota group,

which is an accomplishment
that no one really remembers.

For us to basically go cold turkey
and show up and be as good as we were,

I was proud of that effort.

In NASCAR, race engineers
do a lot of the simulation work,

initial build of the car,
how to put the tires, shock springs.

Trying to improve our limitations
is the one thing we try to drive on.

What did he fight the most?

What made him not go as fast
as the leader or the guy that won?

[man] I'm using that tool to compare
different cars on the racetrack

and show Bubba what maybe
he was doing right or wrong, uh,

on different aspects
of the... of the racetrack.

Couple things I wrote down that I wanted
to address to improve on as a group.

One of the main ones is trying
to understand earlier in the race

what we need to go faster
and communicate that concisely.

[Hamlin] There's 36 races this year.

We're five races into the season,
but we haven't won a race yet.

The goal is to get into the playoffs.

One way to lock yourself in
is to win a race.

The next is, you can get in by points,
determined by your finishing position.

What we've found is that, essentially,
if you wanna be part of the playoffs,

if you can finish 14th every week,
you're gonna be part of the playoffs.

That's the key number we put in
our team's head before the season started.

[Wheeler] At the end of the day,
we got the car there.

It's like, "f*ck, we're fast.
Car's got speed. You can do it."

"We passed good guys."

It's not like we're a bag of sh*t
and we're falling apart.

It's... It's actually there.

But guess what?
Come back to work on Monday and try again.

Safe to say that all of us want to win
as many races as we can,

because then you'll deliver value
to your sponsors.

[Hamlin] We're sponsor-driven in our sport
for a certain number of races.

They pay a fee to be on my car.

Flat out, you see the logo on the hood
when you're at the race track.

Speed costs money.

With the cost of cars,
engineering, and parts and pieces,

and tires, and all the things that we do,

to run a competitive NASCAR team
is probably in the range of $20 million.

If DoorDash, McDonald's,
Columbia, Root, Dr. Pepper,

or any of them decide to leave 23XI,

if we can't replace that revenue,
there's a chance we don't race.

[Hamlin] Sponsors get on your race car
because they wanna be seen.

And if you're running
middle to back of the pack,

TV ain't covering


[Lauletta] It is so important
that Bubba and our team

do everything we can
to deliver value to these sponsors,

because if we don't have them,
there isn't us.

[pensive music playing]

[exciting music playing]

[announcer 1] Love this racetrack.
It all comes down to the surface.

You're talking wore-out, it's rough.

[announcer 2] A multi-groove racetrack,

where tire management
is going to be key for driver and crew.

Tires to Atlanta
are like termites to two-by-fours.

[announcer 1 chuckles]

[Wallace] Going into that race,
I was like,

"You got a decent car, I believe.
Let's try to be competitive."

[Desi] Normally, I'd probably do
about six or seven races a year.

As far as coming to the track now
with COVID,

this is my first race of the season,

so I'm really excited about it.

I'm not allowed down in the pits.

Usually I walk around Bubba's car,
praying over it,

and making sure that
he comes through safe.

I pray for all the drivers,

uh, but I put an extra something
in there for him. [chuckles]

[pensive music playing]

- [Wallace] Must've been me.
- [engineer] No, that's Kyle.

[Wallace] Okay, Kyle. Mine will be worse.

[engineer laughs]

[Wallace] From 2020 to now,
the fan base is different.

I went from a lot of cheers
in the driver intros,

but now I'm...

right behind Kyle Busch in the boos.

[announcer 1 speaks indistinctly]
Bubba Wallace!

[crowd cheering and booing]

Told you! Way worse.

They hate Kyle, one, 'cause he wins a lot.

[Sprint Cup announcer] Kyle Busch,
the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion!

He's the winningest driver of the decade.

But two, the way he acts when he loses.

- [announcer 1] Kyle Busch not happy.
- [spotter, on radio] Calm down, dude.

[announcer 1] And Kyle Busch
turns the 33 into the wall!

He acts like a crybaby.

[announcer 2] Busch should be parked
maybe for the rest of the season.

He wants to play games,
he's gonna get hurt. I don't care.

I'll wreck as many cars as I need to.

Mess with the bull,
you're gonna get the horns.

- [man 1] Hey! Kyle! Let's go!
- [whistle blowing]

[indistinct shouting]

And now, when you go "political,"
as they say,

now I'm getting
just as many boos as he is.

[Gillispie] Bubba has a lot of haters
because some people don't wanna see him

speak on these type of things,
as far as the flag or police brutality.

We definitely need that win.
It would mean a lot.

It would, uh, shut up a lot of the haters,

um, I think that would
definitely give him his, um, momentum

to, you know, keep his faith
and keep pushing.

[car engine revving]

[thrilling music playing]

[Wheeler, on radio] Long day here.
Adapt and overcome all day long.

See you at the end.

[announcer 2] We'll give you onboard,
Bubba Wallace.

[announcer 1] Watch those hands as he
works the wheel through this rough track.

Your hands are gonna be working
all day here for 500 miles.

[announcer 2] New leader
Ryan Blaney at the stripe

by about a third of a car length,

and Larson moves to take it right back.

[Blaney] At the Atlanta race,
that's a long 500-mile race.

Uh, the track's really old and worn out.

That's probably the toughest place we go.

Surface hasn't been repaved since 2006.

So, that's 15 years
in Atlanta weather, Atlanta heat.

[on radio] I need to be tightened up.
Too easy to step out everywhere.

[Wheeler, on radio] 10-4.

[Wallace] Atlanta's always been
a struggle track. It's so different.

Tires get wore out really quick.

Very hard to figure out.

[car engine roaring]

[machines whirring]

[Wheeler, on radio] Got you about
four tire adjustments.

Hopefully, it's two to three
numbers better.

[announcer 1] Prime example of
"Harvicking." You see how he held it

so much lower on around the corner

than did Bubba Wallace right in front
of him. That is a key to having success.

"Harvicking." Kevin Harvick
is notoriously good at Atlanta.

The way that
that track is built and shaped,

there's a ton of grip
right around the bottom line,

right where the apron meets the racetrack.

And you go in there,
put your left sides on that line,

and it gives you grip
when you're sliding around.

- [suspenseful music playing]
- [engines roaring]

[announcer 1] Being patient
and disciplined enough

to keep the left sides on the paint
much longer before you get wide open.

You get over that bump,
you're fighting that wheel left and right.

[Wallace, on radio] Looks like a bit of
snap pre off the two.

[engineer, on radio] How's right front?
Honestly, I think I gotta look at it.

[Wheeler, on radio] Right rear tail is
pushed in. Right front fender knocked in.

[Wallace] Got some damage.

A little bit of damage there at the end
cost us a couple spots,

and I just couldn't make it up.

[announcer 2] Ryan Blaney wins the
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 in a shocker.

[Blaney, on radio] How about that, boys?
Great job, everybody! Yeah!

[announcer 2] That is the most excited
I have ever heard young Ryan Blaney.

[melancholy music playing]

[Wallace] We finished 16th.

Part of me is like, "Dude, you're better
than this. You know you can do it."

You start to blame yourself
for not getting the job done.

[sighs] What do you do?

[crowd cheering]

[Wallace] I've known Ryan
since we were kids,

just kind of growing up
through the, uh, the same ranks.

I thought that was cool,
getting his first win of the year.

So, I walked over there
to congratulate him.

[crowd cheering]

Thank you, Body Armor,
Advance Auto Parts for what they do.

We couldn't do it without them,

and looking forward to sliding around
a little bit more next week at Bristol.

It's great to have friends come over
to see you in Victory Lane.

Even though I wanna beat my friends,

you're still happy when, you know,
one of your friends does something good.

[Robinson] I first heard
about Bubble Wallace in 2014.

I always follow
any Black drivers or racers in the sport.

So I kind of kept my eye on him and said,
"This guy might be something one day."

As a Black man in America,

you're constantly trying to find
examples of excellence and greatness

in people that look like you,
especially from a historical standpoint.

[unsettling music playing]

Growing up,
I was a big fan of drag racing.

I was a big fan
of Indy cars and the Indy 500,

and I, you know, hadn't heard of any
Black people being race car drivers.

So, I started researching

and came across an article
about the Gold and Glory Sweepstakes,

an African-American racing
series that mirrored the Indy 500.

The guy who started it,
his name was Charlie Wiggins.

They raced cars that they put together
literally from scrap parts

at the Indianapolis fairgrounds
from the 1920s through the 1940s.

That series rivaled the Indy 500.

You had these Black mechanics and drivers

who were putting together cars
and racing them,

and experiencing the same thrills

that any driver
at the Indianapolis 500 did,

because Black people weren't allowed
to race at the Indianapolis 500.

[somber music playing]

Since then,
there's only been four Black drivers

to race at the top level
of NASCAR, the Cup Series.

[engine roaring]

Bill, you are so fast
at these mile-and-a-half cookie cutters.

What's so unique about 'em for you?

[Lester] Bubba stands on my shoulders.
Which, in turn, stands on Willy's.

Which, in turn, stands on Wendell's.

Wendell Scott, you know, was the
first Black driver to win a NASCAR race,

the Grand National division,
which is the Cup Series now.

He was there in the Deep South

when it was highly uncomfortable
to be at a race track as a Black driver.

[uplifting music playing]

[Robinson] He experienced a lot of racism
and prejudice as he raced.

[Lester] He did it all.

He worked on his car, he raced his car,

he made sure
his car went from event to event.

He only had his family as his crew,

his sons Wendell Junior and Frank.

[Desi] This was a man who loved NASCAR.

I'm sure, just like Bubba,
he would eat, sleep, and drink NASCAR.

So, he deserved to be out there
just like everybody else.

[Robinson] Probably the most famous story
about him

is when he did finally win a race,

he was denied the trophy.

[announcer] That was 34, Wendell Scott.

[Robinson] He was leading the race.
He knew he was coming up to the last lap.

He didn't get the last lap flag,
he didn't get the white flag,

and so the race kept going.

When the white flag did drop,
he still was in the lead,

and checkered flag drops, he thinks that
he's the winner of the race.

He's getting ready to accept his trophy,

there's an announcement that
someone else, uh, actually won the race.

[Desi] They didn't acknowledge him
as the winner.

And one of the main reasons why
was because when the drivers win a race

they get to kiss the girls, who are white.

So they wasn't gonna
let that happen back then.

I believe the track promoter
came to them later and said,

"We know you won the race,"
but they thought they'd have a riot

if they allowed a Black man
to get on the rostrum and claim a trophy.

So, eventually,
he ended up getting the prize money

but never actually got the trophy
that he won fair and square.

You know, Wendell Scott, he paved the way.

He was the one
who made it easier for all of us.

[Wallace] Got mask, phone, laptop, iPad.

Man, I'm excited for Bristol.

They decided to add dirt to it
to change it up,

to just give the fans
and the drivers something different.

I'm excited about it
just from the past success on dirt.

These right here...

[rousing country guitar music playing]

...are a Walmart special.

I don't even know how much
these things cost, man. Ten dollars?

These are historic.

One win.

Eldora, truck win, on dirt.

Feel like I should bring 'em.

[Eldora announcer 1] Darrell Wallace Jr.
has put on a clinic

here at Eldora Speedway on dirt.

He has been out front for 97 laps.

[Wallace] I vividly remember that race.
It was so much fun.

Just the way it drove, the way it felt.
Didn't feel like a normal dirt race.

[Eldora announcer 2] Checkered flag
for Darrell Wallace Jr.!

His third career win
in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series!

[Wallace] People ask me
if I have a superstition.

"Well, no, not really,"
but then I started thinking...

Those are some good shoes for sure.

Like, look at that.
That's still dirt from Eldora right there.

Yep, smells like a victory. [chuckles]

- [rousing country guitar music continues]
- [crowd cheering]

Just got a message from the crew chief.

"Sunny in Bristol.
Who's excited for some dirt racing?"

[thrilling music playing]

[Wallace] So we're flying out
on Denny's plane.

Denny is notorious for being late.

[exhales] Man, my last time
I flew out with him,

he was about 45 minutes late.

I can't really say "late,"
'cause it's his plane,

but I'm gonna give him 15.
I'm gonna say 12:15 we're taking off.

What up?

Damn. I lost the bet.
He was here before us.

[Hamlin laughing]

[Wallace laughing]

Uh, excited for this weekend.

It's such an unknown
being on Bristol dirt.

Um, but with past success, it's like,
I got confidence coming into here.

The short tracks were just
an absolute struggle for JGR last year.

Um, in particular, you know, me...
Where, the year before,

I'd finish in the top five
every short track race in 2019.

I know that that was
a point of emphasis with JGR,

is to get better on these short tracks.

Um, that's where the championship's
gonna be made or won, is in Phoenix,

that races like a short track.

So, fingers crossed,

hoping that we perform better
than what we did last year.

- Dang, look how flooded that is.
- Yeah, it's bad.

- [Hamlin] Shoes are white, suit is white.
- [Wallace] Dude, I'm... Yeah.

[Hamlin] Gonna get nasty.

[Wallace] On the way over here,

I was like, "Man, do I wanna be that guy

who's carrying his driver shoes
out to his race car?"

[Hamlin] Nice.
My dad has a pair just like those.

[Wallace laughing]

More of a knock to his dad than it is me.
So, it's all good.

[Hamlin] Wow, there's a lot of water.

[foreboding music playing]

[Bristol fan 1] We're here for the race.
We got our tickets a year ago, man.

We've been looking forward to this.

It was pourin'.

It... I got pictures.

The clouds come over from this way,
and it just looked like a wave.

It was actually really weird.
I mean, really weird.

I hear there's cars underwater
in the parking lot.

[foreboding music continues]

[Bristol fan 2] Never happened before,
ever in my 20-year experience coming here.

Um, I've never seen it this bad.
It's... It's... It's "bad" bad.

[Bristol fan 3]
Man, that track looks slippery.

- We walked it.
- We did the track walk, and it was nasty.

It is muddy.

It's gonna be a lot of wrecks.
Lot of wrecks.

- It's Bristol, baby!
- It's Bristol! Dirt track, 2021!

- Bristolmania!
- [man in water] Whoo!

Whoo!

[dramatic music playing]

[announcer 1] This Bristol dirt race
will be the most unpredictable thing

about this season. It's gonna be wild.

Sparks are gonna fly. Tempers are
gonna flare. Hey, it's Bristol, baby!

[Wallace] The Bristol...

Not one of the fastest tracks we go to,
but it feels like one of the fastest.

It's like the sensation of speed.

[engines roaring]

[Wallace] "Last Great Colosseum"
is what they call it.

And with dirt it's like,
"Oh, boy. Here's another variable."

[Hamlin] The conditions
at Bristol dirt race were really tough.

I grew up on an asphalt background.

So, I was a little bit worried about,
you know, my lack of dirt experience.

[Kraft] Lot of pressure to perform.

Michael Jordan wants to win,
Denny Hamlin wants to win,

our sponsors want us to win.

So you get in here, and it's a ton
of pressure to perform well.

[engine purring]

[announcer 2] Pace truck is off,
and they face the green flag.

The Bristol dirt race is underway.

[thrilling music playing]

Denny Hamlin, lap one.

[announcer 1] How cool is this?

Seeing these Cup cars slide sideways
around these high banks here at Bristol.

That is awesome.

[announcer 2] Bubba Wallace in the 23.

[Kraft, on radio]
Go on back to your lane, 41.

I've been with Bubba now for 12 years.

[on radio] Check up! Stay high! High!

Can't get away from each other,
like a marriage.

[on radio] Stay high! High! Keep coming!

[Wallace, on radio] 10-4.

Won a lot of races together.
He's been a big brother,

uh, he's been the guy
in my ear for a long time.

[Kraft, on radio] Bumper to bumper.
Still outside.

Clear up behind the 14 if you need it.

My job is watching Bubba, making sure
to keep Bubba safe, but at the same time,

relaying information from Wheels
on the strategy side,

to help him do better
in the race car himself.

[on radio] Nine coming into the top.
Still half back. You're good.

- [engines roaring]
- [thrilling music playing]

We ended up racing in a dust bowl.

The visibility was zero.

[Kraft, on radio] Yellow and yellow.

- [announcer 1] Oh, heavy damage!
- [announcer 2] And he gets hit hard.

[announcer 3] Right in front of
your leader, Martin Truex Jr.

- Barely got through that.
- [announcer 2] Yikes.

[Truex Jr., on radio] Holy crap!
That was close!

[announcers laughing]

When the glare of the sun hits right,
you can't see a damn thing.

[Kraft, on radio] About two bottlenecks.
Stay middle here. Still there. Clear.

Check up. Stay high, high, high.

[announcer 1] Harvick!

[Wallace] Close call off turn two there.
Freddie navigated us through.

[Kraft, on radio] Check up. Stop spinning.

Spin up top. Coming down the hill.
Check up. Come, bottom. Keep coming.

Clear.

[Wallace] Things happen so fast
at Bristol.

You really rely on your spotter a lot.

[Kraft, on radio] He's at the fence.
Stay middle here. Keep coming.

With all the dirt kicked up,
it's crazy. It's hard to see.

That's all my job is, is watching Bubba
and trying to help him on the racetrack.

[announcer 3] Look at how much more
forward bite Bubba's car has, the 23.

Chase Elliott can't get off the corner.

This is where Bubba
wears him out down the straightaway.

[engines roaring]

[Wallace] We kept getting the car better

and finished seventh first stage,
seventh second stage,

so it was shaping up to be a good day.

[announcer 2]
Cars making their way around,

and once they're all stopped,
work can begin during the stage breaks.

[announcer 1] The 23, Bubba Wallace,


[announcer 3] Four or five months ago,


Bubba Wallace and crew chief Mike Wheeler,

they did not even have a shop to work in.

They were holding team meetings
in Mike Wheeler's garage.

It has been a rocky start
for that 23 team.

They just need a solid, uneventful finish.

[announcer 2] We're coming green
for the final stage to take us to lap 250.

[Kraft, on radio] Green.

[engines roaring]

[Kraft] Outside A. Outside. Outside.
Still there, still there.

[announcer 2] Seventh place here
is Bubba Wallace.

[Kraft, on radio] Out of line. Bumper.

[announcer 2] The two fastest cars
that lap are the two up front,

Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse.

- [announcers fade to background]
- [ethereal music playing]

[announcer 1] Bubba goes around!

- [announcer 3] Left rear tire down.
- [announcer 1] Sure does.

[announcer 3] Sure enough.
You can see the wheel was hit.

[Wallace, on radio] Oh, he cut my tire!

[Kraft, on radio] 10-4.

[announcer 2] And he will have to pit
and fall off the lead lap.

[dramatic music playing]

[Wallace] Forty-seven, he cut our tire
with a handful of laps to go.

I think Bubba didn't wanna give up
the position. It was late in the race.

Ultimately, didn't give
the 47 a whole lot of room.

[Wallace] Tried to just
keep him back there,

and he ended up just forcing the issue
and pushing our fender into the tire,

and it cut it.

[announcer 2] That'll take Wallace out
of a top ten spot and off the lead lap.

My mentality would have been, "I'm trying
to hold onto 7th, but 8th is still good."

Because there was no one
coming behind Stenhouse.

[Wallace] That ruined our chances
of a good finish. We got 27th.

So, that sucks.

[announcer 2] Joey Logano is gonna win
the dirt race at Bristol.

Stenhouse, Hamlin, Suarez,
and Ryan Newman, the top five.

[Wallace] Right now, we're eight races in.

I thought we'd be a little better.

We've been finishing 16th, 17th, 28th.

We haven't had our breakout moment yet.

We've had some highlights.

Uh, I think my expectations were realistic
at times, maybe a little superficial.

But then you sit there and think,
"Still got 28 races to go."

[Hamlin] The way I see it, we'll continue
to get better through the season.

Bubba and Mike are working
that communication, talking about,

"Bubba, I need you
to give me this information,"

and Bubba saying,
"I need the car to do this better."

Those are all things
that's gonna make them better

when they go back to these tracks
for the second time,

and I expect their performance
to pick up accordingly.

[birds chirping]

[Desi] Last race, um... not a good finish.

Bubba grew up winning.

That's every race car driver's dream
is to win.

So, when... you're not winning anymore,

and you're finishing in mid-pack,

that's pressure in itself,
just to go out there and perform well.

But now it's a totally
different level of pressure.

Bubba has the pressure
of the Black community to represent,

he has pressure of NASCAR,

and he has the pressure
of his owners who he races for, to win.

When I come in here sometimes,
I look at how small he was,

'cause those are the seats that Bubba
actually sat in when he started.

And one time he was out practicing,
and he actually ran his dad over.

His dad was out on the track,
shouldn't have been,

and Bubba thought he'd k*lled his dad,
so... [chuckles] ...that was funny.

Well, it wasn't funny at the time, but...

So, I said, "Well, maybe y'all need
to try something else." [laugh, sighs]

Yeah. Good old days.

[pensive music playing]

[Wallace] Martinsville's coming up.

I had all the confidence going there, um,

'cause we've run there
in the past pretty competitively.

Bubba, he's good at Martinsville,
he loves Martinsville.

That's where he won his first race
in the Truck Series in 2013.

[thrilling music playing]

[2013 announcer] Darrell Wallace Jr.
gonna get his first win

in the Camping World Truck Series!

[crowd cheering]

[Busch] In 2014, he wanted to pay tribute
to a throwback scheme of Wendell Scott.

Wendell Scott is
the only Black driver in our sport

to have won a race before Bubba.

[2014 announcer 1] So, the win
for Darrell Wallace Jr.

[Wallace, on radio] God dang,
I love you guys!

Whoo! [laughs]

Yeah, baby!

[2014 announcer 2] A very happy man
for the second time in Martinsville.

It's a true honor to have
Wendell Scott on our Toyota Tundra

and to put it in Victory Lane.

Special moment.
Martinsville is my favorite place.

[dramatic music playing]

[reporter 1] Ahead of the race
at Martinsville,

NASCAR made an announcement.

[reporter 2] NASCAR banning the display
of the Confederate flag

at its events and properties.

[reporter 3] Wallace has been
on the front lines

of ending the Confederate flag's presence
at race tracks.

[Hall] As soon as he announced
the Confederate flag should be banned,

we'd get death threats,
five, six, seven a day.

People saying, "I hope those seat belts
comes undone and you hit the wall."

"NASCAR schedule's posted in advance.
I know where you'll be and when."

But Bubba wasn't scared.

[Petty] At that time, Bubba, he was part
of Richard Petty Motorsports.

Even though he's a driver, I'm the owner,
and all this.

So, what statement do you want to make
to the racing crowd? Or to the world?

"What about an organization on there,
or something to raise awareness?"

And they were like, "Well, we'll give you


Took me about ten minutes.
"Why don't we do Black Lives Matter?"

[reporter 4] Wallace will run
a special Black Lives Matter paint scheme.

Pretty cool Richard Petty Motorsports
will allow him to make this statement.

We were told by my tire guy

to run that part of the car into people,
get them out of the way.

We show a lot of compassion, love,
and understanding, though, while we do it.

[Pockrass] And NASCAR announced the ban
of the Confederate flag before that race.

This was, of all places,
Martinsville, Virginia,

which is... Talk about the Deep South.

He knew that this was going to make
some people uncomfortable.

[inspirational music playing]

[Bell] It's one thing to say,
"Ban the Confederate flag,"

but it's another thing to go,
"I'll drop the mic on this moment

and drive a Black Lives Matter car."

[Hill] In one of the whitest sports,

you see "Black Lives Matter"
going around the track over and over,

and considering how important
the messaging on a race car is in NASCAR,

that was just absolutely mind-blowing.

[Thompson] I did not know Bubba was gonna
run the Black Lives Matter car,

but when I saw it, immense pride,

not only for the step
that the sport had taken,

but also for Bubba
and the leadership role that he took.

And what that meant for him
and his maturation, quite frankly,

as a Black man in the sport.

And to know that at Martinsville,

that thing was gonna
go around the track 500 times

and people were gonna have to see it,
whether they liked it or not.

It was a cool moment.

[announcer 1] Well, a historic night
for Martinsville Speedway.

There is no way that is something
I ever saw happening in that sport,

under those circumstances,
sending that message.

That was tremendous.
I couldn't believe I was witnessing that.

[announcer 2] How about Bubba Wallace?
Man, he's just come to life here...

- [Twitter whistles]
- [Dillon] LeBron James tweeted about it,

and you had all these high-level athletes
talking about what our sport was doing.

[announcer 1] And he's about to have
his best career finish at Martinsville.

[Desi] I said, "Look at my son."

"He's being an activist
for racial equality,"

and I don't really think
that he understood

the magnitude of where
that was going to take him.

[Wallace] Awesome car.

Best car we've ever raced.

[announcer 2] I come to Martinsville,
I think, "What does it take to win here?"

It's been since Denny Hamlin in 2008

since we've had a winner here
with fewer than 100 starts.

So that tells you
how important experience is.

[Wallace] Martinsville's the smallest
track on the circuit.

It's a half mile,

and we have
a big short-track brake package on

to get the car to stop,
super heavy brakes.

So, this was the first race with
that package, and I was ready to roll.

MJ texted me, "Good luck today."
I said, "It'll be a great day."

"I expect a win."

[exciting music playing]

[Kraft, on radio] Five hundred total.
You know the deal.

[Wallace, on radio] Copy, brother.

[Kraft] Be smart on the start.

[Wallace] Roger that.

All right, here we go.

[Kraft] Green, green.

[announcer 1] Green flag! We're under way!

[engines roaring]

[dramatic music playing]

[announcer 1] Bubba dive-bombed
to the inside.

[announcer 2] Right there you can tell...

[announcer 1] Oh, there was contact
between he and Harvick and Buescher.

[announcer 3]
That was definitely retaliation.

[Kraft, on radio] f*ck it.
Focus back in here.

I'm mad, I'm pissed off.
Sometimes I drive better when I'm mad.

Got back on the lead lap.

[announcer 1] Here we go.
Bubba Wallace, Ryan Newman up front.

- [Kraft, on radio] Set a pace. Don't burn.
- [Wallace, on radio] Copy.

[announcer 1] First time he has led
at Martinsville in the Cup Series.

[thrilling music playing]

[announcer 2] Bubba Wallace has impressed
me here. He's had some good runs.

[Wallace laughs on radio]

[announcer 4] Bit of strategy
for the 23 to get out front.

This is more laps
than he's led all season, 21 and counting.

[Wallace, on radio] Gotta move my lever
back forward to have braking capability.

[Kraft, on radio] Get your lever
where you need it.

Be smart. Take care best you can.

[Wallace] I got no grip anywhere, turning.

Just awful.

I'll just press harder.

- [Kraft] Keep pushing the pedal harder.
- [Wallace] Trying.

[announcer 1] Bubba Wallace now
just one car length up on William Byron.

[announcer 3] He's got a rear view full
of the 24.

[Kraft, on radio] Bumper. He's there.

Two back, 11. Bottom behind him.

[announcer 1] So, William Byron becomes
the fifth different leader today.

[Kraft, on radio] Don't know
if it's brakes he's struggling with.

I think he's charging the entry too hard,
then having to slow it up too much.

[Wallace, on radio] It's over-rotating.

- [announcer 1] Denny Hamlin...
- [Kraft] Half back 11.

[announcer 2] Denny Hamlin's won quite
a few races at this track. Knows it well.

[Hamlin] I mean, I'm 40 years old.
People that are my age...

We might not be as fast
as the young guys burning up the track,

but we figure out how to manage the race.

Been through it all, seen it all.

[announcer 1] Denny Hamlin,
who is cruising.

So, Hamlin did his homework.

[announcer 3] Hamlin able to capitalize.
No surprise he's fixing to take the lead.

[announcer 2]
Bubba Wallace had the opportunity.

He doesn't have a ton of experience

like a lot of the other guys
we talk about, like Denny Hamlin.

- [engines roaring]
- [thrilling music playing]

[announcer 1] Bang and crash! That was
Bubba Wallace almost getting turned there.

[Wallace, on radio] Need brake pressure,
not stopping.

[Wheeler, on radio]
Pushing the pedal harder.

[Wallace] I'm f*ck' trying
not to lose my f*ck' cool!

- [Wheeler] Don't get frustrated.
- [Wallace] We're not in the race!

You start to make mistakes during a race

because you're so mad. Thinking about,
"What in the hell am I doing?"

[on radio] Just doesn't react, goes numb
when I let off the brakes.

[Wheeler] Charging entry harder,
braking harder.

But there's a lot going on, man.
You have to digest type of deal.

- [Wallace] But we're still sh*t.
- [Kraft] Stay positive.

Damn. This is not what we expected.
It's not what I expected.

[announcer 1] And coming out of turn four,
for his 29th career win,

he's why they call it Martinsville.

Martin Truex will go to Victory Lane.

- It's Martin's third Martinsville win.
- [tires screeching]

Denny Hamlin finishes third
after leading more than half the race.

[crowd cheering]

That was super tough to swallow.

I was pissed after the race.

You know, we finished 16th,

which is 15 spots worse
than what I wanted to finish.

It still bothers me.

From expecting this,
and performing and getting this.

[intense music playing]

[Talladega announcer]
Welcome back to Talladega.

We know it's going to be exciting.

I felt nervous.

"There was a noose in your garage."
"A what?"

[Phelps] We've got to make sure
we handle this correctly.

Such a bad divorce.
My parents' life is falling apart.

- [announcer] Toyotas will start in back.
- [Kraft, on radio] Wrecking behind you.

[announcer] Bubba Wallace,
from worst to first.

[Kraft] All the way through. Cool it down.

[eerie music playing]

[down-tempo rock song playing]

♪ 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
Hard, hard ♪

♪ And oh my God
I've 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 ♪

♪ And no, I can't give in ♪

♪ I'm in my journey
And God, you know I'm gonna win ♪

♪ I'm gonna win, oh ♪

[singer vocalizing]

[song fades to silence]