Historic win for Wallace at Talladega

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Mother Nature paved the way for history Monday at Talladega.

Mobile, Alabama native and current NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace became the second African-American driver ever to win a NASCAR Cup Series race in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Wallace held the lead in Monday’s rain-delayed YellaWood 500 at when Ryan Preece turned into the outside wall off the bumper of Chris Buescher’s Ford to cause the fifth caution of the event.

“I never think about those things, an emotional Wallace said after the race was called. “When you say it like that, it brings a lot of emotion, brings a lot of joy, to my family, fans, and friends.”

It was the first victory for 23XI Racing, a team that debuted this year with driver Denny Hamlin and Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan as co-owners. Drivers outside the respective Playoffs won all three Talladega races in NASCAR’s top three divisions this week. Wallace completed the trifecta all being first-time winners.

This is for all those kids out there that want to have an opportunity in whatever they want to achieve,” Wallace added. “You’re gonna go through a lot of (expletive) but you always gotta stay true to your path and not let the nonsense get to ya, and stay strong, stay humble, and stay hungry. There’s plenty of time that I wanted to give up, if you surround yourself with the right people, it’s moments like this that you appreciate.”