Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. Has made fairly the name for self in the world of NASCAR because his debut in 2012. The north Carolina indigenous is one of the couple of Black stock auto racers in auto racing. In fact, Wallace is the only Black male driver in his division, the NASCAR Cup series, per the San Francisco Chronicle. The absence of diversity in NASCAR expected that over there was opportunity for Wallace to education others around his gyeongju within the sport. He referred to as on NASCAR come remove and ban Confederate flags in the wake of George Floyd"s killing in June 2020 and has end up being an activist in his very own right (via ESPN).

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Seeing Wallace"s success on and off the track has actually prompted plenty of fans to find out an ext about that — v some also wondering if he"s associated to racing room of Famer Rusty Wallace in any kind of way. Scroll down to find out if the 2 racers room related.


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Although Bubba Wallace Jr. And also Rusty Wallace share the very same last name, there"s no relation in between the No. 23 driver and also the former NASCAR legend. In fact, Bubba find the pan speculation funny, even sporting t-shirts that read: "Darrell no Waltrip, Wallace not Rusty, Junior no Earnhardt," in his Instagram write-ups (via The Undefeated).

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Bubba does not seem to mind being linked to the elder Wallace, though, due to the fact that it means that world are taking note of his success and also he is happy to represent a new generation the NASCAR drivers. "I"m the just one that"s here. NASCAR is, ns wouldn"t to speak desperate, however they"re searching for a new face," Bubba told The Undefeated in 2018. ""They"re obtaining a brand-new face behind the wheel, yet it"s the same face in the stands. We have a good fan base, and they desire to proceed to flourish that. They"re not trying to readjust that pan base. They want to just bring a bigger influence to the outsiders that space looking in. Due to the fact that it is a funny sport."

Bubba will store the funny in mind as soon as he takes another shot at acquiring a Cup series on Feb. 14, 2021. He was hired ~ above 23XI racing — a team owned by 3 time Daytona 500 champion Danny Hamlin — and also basketball great Michael Jordan. Bubba appreciates that there is diversity in ownership and hopes that the sport will proceed to thrive alongside fans, Sporting News reported.