While Wallace went on to win four races and finish third in the standings a year later, a young Japanese American named Kyle Larson was blazing his own historic trail two notches higher in the Cup series. When Wallace burst on to the national touring scene as a 19-year-old truck series rookie in 2013, Danicamania was at the crest of its second wave. It was a part the 26-year-old Alabama native – who tangled with the bottom five for a spell on Wednesday before finishing 11th – was destined to play, an eventuality that would sneak up on the wider world as the sport’s only black driver slipstreamed comfortably in the wake of the other multi-culti mascots farther up in the parade. There is also anger over Wallace’s plan to drive a car emblazoned with a Black Lives Matter hashtag at Wednesday’s Martinsville Speedway in Virginia.This deliciously righteous victory lap, one saluted by everyone from LeBron James to the NAACP, was long in the making for Wallace, Nascar’s lonely champion for fairness and inclusion. They have no place for them.”īacklash to NASCAR’s ban on the rebel flag has been almost immediate, with some claiming they will no longer attend or support the organization.
The latest directive comes just days after one of the popular drivers - and only African American racing in its top circuit - Darrell “Bubba” Wallace called for the flag’s ouster.Īs we reported Tuesday, Wallace told CNN on Monday, “No one should feel uncomfortable when they come to a NASCAR race. His remarks were prompted by the killing of nine African Americans who were shot in a South Carolina church.įrance subsequently implemented a flag exchange program at all racing events in which fans could trade in a Confederate flag for an American one. In 2015, then-NASCAR CEO and Chairman Brian France referred to the flag as an “ offensive and divisive symbol.” NASCAR has for years been under pressure to ban the flag which has long been prevalent at its racetracks and flown on RVs at its infields on race days.
Confederate-themed flags fly in the infield before a NASCAR race at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina in 2015.
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