[birds chirping]
- [items clatter]
- [Wallace grunts]
Here we go.
Looks like we're going on a golf trip.
Which I ain't complaining about.
Yes. All right, let's do it.
[upbeat music playing]
Fore.
Thinking about playing golf
gets me excited
just like thinking about racing
gets me excited.
Same way. Gets you fired up.
And it's such a mental game.
[Hall] I mean, these drivers,
you gotta take mental breaks.
This sport is so demanding,
not only from a physical perspective,
but also from a mental capacity.
So, opportunities like this where you can
get away just to have a mental reset.
It's so big. It's crucial.
I need one of y'all behind me
with the Shot Tracer,
because I ain't gonna find half of them.
[Wallace] Golf, it's 95% mental,
how you approach it,
how you play through the game,
and keep your mindset level-headed,
you know, just like a race.
I tell you what, it's a great day for it.
[Wallace] How you approach the race
is important.
Can't beat it.
If you show up like you're defeated,
then you're gonna be defeated.
And so I try to do a better job of that,
especially at some of the tougher courses.
Show up and be like,
"I'm gonna hit good today."
- [Hall] That's a shot. Come right. Settle.
- Pulled that thing.
- [Hall] That'll be all right.
- Yeah.
["Hot" by Young Thug
ft. Gunna and Travis Scott playing]
[Wallace] Oh, yeah.
[Hall] Mm.
Damn. The cameras.
[Wallace] It was bad,
and that's documented.
Kyle doesn't like playing with me,
because I said the game is 95% mental
and 5%, you know, skill.
Well, there's actually 150%, game of golf,
'cause the other 50% is sh*t-talking.
Oh, they're still filming you.
- Good.
- [Wallace chuckles]
[Wallace] The walk of shame right there.
[men laughing]
[Wallace] Bogey right here. I need this.
- Missed it!
- [Hall] Oh!
My God. f*ck this game.
Oh, he sailed it. No, he didn't.
Did he do it? Boom, baby! [laughing]
- Let's go!
- f*ck' bang, bang.
[Wallace laughs]
Hellacious par 5 coming up now.
These shots scare me.
Oh. See ya.
- Don't f*ck it up, Kyle.
- [Hall] Oh sh*t.
[Wallace chuckles] No pressure.
Five dollars.
[laughing] That's you back there?
[laughs]
I swear, I hate this game,
and I love this game.
Don't matter what you do. Five dollars.
- [Hall] Nope.
- [Wallace yells]
- [golfer] Right here.
- God Almighty, the pressure is real!
Telling everybody how relaxing it is,
and then after eight holes,
everybody wants to k*ll each other, so...
I... Like... What other sport
does that other than golf?
[upbeat music playing]
Boom! Yes!
Whoo!
[laughing]
That was awesome.
- [golfer] Good game.
- [Wallace exhales]
That saved my wallet.
[dark instrumentals]
["Cruisin'" by DOWORK playing]
Oh, ooh.
- This is the beginning.
- This is the new beginning.
- So, is it '22, '23 or what?
- [Wallace] '22. This is next year.
- Oh wow.
- This is... Yeah. Five months away.
My name is Kevin Liles,
co-founder and CEO of 300 Entertainment
and also partner in Prosports Management.
You know, the funny thing,
people speak to me,
"Kevin, I thought you were
in the music business."
NASCAR wasn't something
that was in my mind
or something that I was interested in
until I got a call from one of my friends,
and he said to me, "I have this kid,
and he's the only African-American,
you know, NASCAR driver,
and one of my friends, Rod,
he would love to talk to you about it."
Through a connection of mine, was able
to form a relationship with Kevin Liles.
As the former president
of Def Jam Records,
involved in the signing
of Jay Z with Def Jam,
and, uh, really a guy
that had an extremely strong Rolodex,
very creative,
and felt that partnering with him,
we would be able to effectively
secure sponsorship for Bubba.
I was just thinking
when we didn't have the right car,
when we didn't have the sponsors,
and now all of this.
So, I... I haven't seen it in this form.
I know the car's leaving,
but tell me about it. Where are we now?
So, we just loaded up some...
Pretty cool to see
the golden arches on our car.
- Yes, that's...
- Yeah.
But, yeah. No, this is it.
This is, uh,
it's not just a blank race car.
[Moskowitz] In my eight-plus years
representing Bubba,
we were never able to secure
the level of funding that Bubba would need
to really compete with the best racers.
[Wallace] It's tough when people say,
"Just be yourself, and don't change."
"Sponsorship will come."
It's all bullshit,
'cause, you know, I was way different
than any other driver,
not even a racial side of things,
and nothing.
[Robinson] Sponsorship is the lifeblood
of motorsports.
So, are you able to find a sponsor
that identifies with your personality,
identifies with your beliefs,
with your values,
and that you can be the face
of that company?
[Wallace] They were like, "Sponsorship
will come. Sponsorship will come."
"Just go out and win. When you win,
that makes everything easier."
[announcer 1] Down the backstretch,
Wallace almost a backstretch lead
over second place Brendan Gaughan.
Out of turn number four,
Darrell Wallace, Jr.'s gonna get his first
win in the Camping World Truck Series.
When we won that race at Martinsville,
I wasn't thinking about sponsorship.
I just knew we'd won a race.
Great. Awesome. Got that first win.
- [crowd cheering]
- [announcer 2] And today, Bubba Wallace
picks up his third career win
in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
[Wallace] Well, then, a week later,
two weeks later, a month later...
I was like, "How've the phone lines been?"
"Dead. Nothing."
I was like,
"Huh. So that theory's bullshit."
[Robinson] There may have been
some companies
that may not have been ready to, you know,
sort of hitch their wagon to Bubba,
maybe based on race.
[Wallace] Felt like my timetable
was getting smaller,
'cause the sponsorships didn't come,
and so, uh, it wasn't until 2020...
[tense music playing]
[reporter 1] Wallace is NASCAR's only
full-time Black driver,
who's taking a stand...
[reporter 2] African-American driver...
[reporter 3] Wallace wore a T-shirt
with Floyd's final words
and "Black Lives Matter" on it.
[Moskowitz] Before the events of 2020,
Bubba, outside of NASCAR,
was likely not very well-known.
What's the next action, Bubba?
I don't know.
Starts with Confederate flags.
Get them out. No place for 'em.
When he found his voice,
that started to change.
I said couple weeks ago that something
changed inside of me to be an activist.
My mother said,
"Ever believe you'd be an activist?"
And I'm like, "No, not really,"
but, you know, I just felt something
in my heart that I needed to step up.
[reporter 4] Wallace will run a special
Black Lives Matter paint scheme.
I haven't slept much
thinking about this race.
Everything going into it,
everything going on in the world.
Trying to race to change the world,
so, see y'all at the end of this thing.
[Martinsville announcer] A historic night
for Martinsville Speedway.
[man] When I saw Bubba driving
the Black Lives Matter car,
I said, "Damn, this brother
is going to get Kaepernicked."
It's gonna be done.
[Wallace] Can't just sit silent
just because everybody else is.
I have a responsibility. It's automatic
that I have a responsibility.
[O'Ferrall] But, it was just
the right time.
The groundswell was so sincere.
It forced a lot of companies
to get some courage too.
[Wallace] Time is of the essence,
and it's time
to stand up for what's right.
[Wallace] After I hung up with Ty Dillon,
management's calling me.
"Hey, man. We got big people on the line."
Like, "No sh*t. Hmm."
[Moskowitz] The conversations
started to significantly increase.
In fact, in my 25-plus years
of representing athletes,
I've never seen anything quite like it.
I didn't even know this.
Before the season started,
you didn't have a sponsor for every race.
Suffice to say you do now.
We are really, really proud to announce,
uh, the partnership with DoorDash.
They will be jumping on our race car
for seven races this year,
multi-year deal.
[Amoo-Gottfried] I was personally
inspired by Bubba,
and as a company, we were inspired.
We felt that
there was a lot of shared values
around the things that Bubba stood for
and things that DoorDash stands for.
[Bornoff] We'd been looking at NASCAR
for a couple years,
but hadn't yet found a way
to line up the things we cared about
with the things that NASCAR,
as a league, cared about.
[Amoo-Gottfried] When Bubba emerged,
it felt like the right moment
to engage with the sport.
It made this a no-brainer
when we came out and said,
"We're going to sponsor Bubba Wallace."
[Wallace] DoorDash, Columbia, Root,
Dr. Pepper, McDonald's stepped up.
[O'Ferrall] Black McDonald's owners
were aware
that we had an uber-talented driver,
who wasn't necessarily getting
all the resources and the sponsors
that he needed to be successful.
People saw there was an opportunity to be
part of the change happening in the sport.
There was an opportunity to take the work
Bubba was doing and help supercharge it.
[commercial reporter] How do you respond
to the request that you apologize?
[dramatic music plays]
[upbeat music playing]
[announcer 1] It's so good
to be back in Nashville,
so good to be back
at the Nashville Superspeedway.
[announcer 2] The place sold out,
fans have been filing in since daybreak,
and they're ready for 300 laps.
And so are we.
[Wallace] At this point in the season,
we still have a handful of races to go.
Still looking for that first win,
trying to get ourselves in the playoffs.
We quickly realized, even when
you have the best stuff in the garage,
the sport is still tough.
[announcer 2] And here they come,
all the eyes on the flag stand.
[Kraft, on radio] Ready... green, green.
[announcer 2] Green flag goes in the air.
[announcer 3] Everybody diving and darting
for position going into turn one.
- [Kraft, on radio] Let's go to work.
- [Wallace] Yes, sir!
[producer] Let's talk about Nashville.
What happened?
[Wallace chuckling] Oh, dude.
[announcer 4] Ryan Blaney's up
into the wall.
He slips high out of the groove,
slaps the safer barrier.
[announcer 3] And two cars into
the safer barrier in turn number two.
[Wallace] Lot of people
had brake failures.
Brakes getting too hot, exploding.
When the brake rotor explodes,
I mean, pieces of the rotor are flying.
And the 99 was passing us
on the front stretch,
so I just went to run high,
and I had seen a piece of brake rotor
laying on the track, like, last minute,
and I went to turn...
[thud]
I'm thinking,
"I ran over that brake rotor,"
but I'm not gonna say it over the radio.
Gonna get by with it. Two laps later...
[on radio] Tire, tire!
[Kraft] Just stay up.
You're gonna roll the best you can.
[announcer 4] Turn two, Bubba Wallace has
a tire down on the DoorDash machine.
He spins down to the bottom of the track,
slides back into the middle of the groove.
Everybody checks up.
Everybody makes it by.
A wild ride out of turn two
for Bubba Wallace.
[announcer 1] That will put us
under the caution flag
for the sixth time here this afternoon.
[Wallace] They don't clean up rotor parts
on the front stretch!
Piss-poor job by them!
f*ck' pathetic.
Exchange the f*ck' lefts.
Left side. It's left side to pick it up.
It was just like one thing after another.
[on radio] Three, two, one.
[machines whirring]
[Wheeler] Stand to only lose one lap here.
Bit of fender damage. We'll work on it.
Everything is still there.
Still in the game.
[engines roaring]
Start at the back again.
[Wheeler] We are one of three cars,
one lap down.
[Wallace] 10-4.
And like every 45 minutes,
it's just, like, punched in the gut.
You're on the inside of the 34,
and the 38 gets a little out of shape.
[Kraft] Inside.
He's got the 7 pushing him.
spins us out.
[announcer 4] Trouble straightaway.
Bubba Wallace loses the handle
coming off turn number two,
slides down into the infield grass,
ends up pointed north
in the southbound lane,
now gets it righted,
and will try and pull away.
[announcer 3] And cautions on the speedway
for the tenth time today.
[Wallace, on radio]
You can't f*cking cut down
when somebody's underneath you!
I've had enough of that m*therf*cker
and this m*therf*cking day.
And we go to the back again.
So, it was just...
Nashville sucked.
[announcer 3] And Kyle Larson wins
the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
[Wheeler, on radio] Okay, Bub. P-21.
Cool that motor down, please.
We're gonna need it again.
I know it was a rough day,
but, uh, we need some help here.
[unsettling music playing]
[Wallace] I've learned my lesson
a couple times passing out,
when I'm mad and frustrated
and I get out of the car too quick
and walk over and talk about it,
and then I just pass out.
[indistinct conversations]
[Wallace] sh*t.
One thing after another, all day.
Four hours of just
getting punched in the face.
[man] You all right?
Just sore.
Sore from just getting
my f*cking a*s kicked today.
These race cars can get up to
[Kraft] It's super hot,
and it's obviously gonna wear you out,
especially in Nashville, where it was
over a hundred on the heat index,
so I can't imagine
how hot it was in the car,
but it's just a matter of
just being drained, you know,
dehydrated after the race.
[Blaney] To sit in that thing
for four hours, trying to be competitive,
it's a different kind of conditioning.
Lot of guys question
if these guys are athletes or not.
Try sitting in your car for four hours
with the windows rolled up,
and crank the heat on as hard as you can,
and see how much you like it
riding around 50 miles an hour,
let alone riding around
at 150 miles an hour.
[somber music playing]
[birds chirping]
[ethereal music playing]
[Hall] Bubba, he calls me, like,
"Hey, I wanna catch up. I wanna chat."
He started telling me,
"I don't know, man."
"It's like, the anxiety has been high,
the depression has been high."
So I'm telling him, like, "You gotta
stop right there. You need help."
"Obviously, that's something
you need to take very seriously."
And he's like, "There's just such
a negative stigma on getting help."
You know, "I don't wanna be that guy
that has to talk to somebody
because he's got emotional issues."
I was like, "Man, I think you have
some demons inside of you."
"We need to get those addressed."
"You're just torturing yourself."
He's like, "No, I'm fine.
I don't need to worry about it."
[Wallace] Come on.
[Hall] And, like,
now he's in shambles again.
So, it's tough.
[Wheeler] Hello, sir.
How are you?
Half the battle is actually showing up.
So, thanks for continuing to do that.
Recapping what transpired three days ago...
[Hamlin] I think that...
- I-I swear to y'all...
- [somber music playing]
the results were f*cking awful.
I hate them, and I know that... [chuckles]
You know, our strategy was f*cked.
I know where our ceiling is here,
and it is way higher
than what we're actually finishing.
Expectations...
What do I say? "Don't have them,
and you won't be disappointed."
And yeah, I still get 'em.
It's like, f*ck,
how far are we gonna fall here?
We'll be fine.
It's... it's the mental side of things,
and it's just, like, f*cking A.
Guarantee if we have
just a smooth race where it's...
If we run 25th all day,
I'll be pissed. Yeah, sure.
But if we just gotta focus.
Help me keep the focus there.
So, y'all help me on that,
because I am just f*cking gone that way.
[somber music continues]
[Hamlin] Bubba, do you think it would
be helpful if we had, like, someone
to help check emotions at times?
I don't know, dawg.
I don't... I don't know.
[sniffs] I need help.
Dude, there's...
there's a lot of sh*t up here...
that... that takes me out,
that I'm working on, but... I need help.
[Wallace clears throat]
[Hamlin] I-I think that Bubba
has a lot of pressure.
Listen, we all have pressure
in this situation.
You cannot run 20th for forever.
We have gotta... We've gotta bounce back
when adversity hits us.
That is the difference in the greats
and the... and the people that don't.
[Wallace] Jesus Christ.
That's all we're praying for at this point
is a clean race,
but it's going to come from us making...
making sure that happens, right?
[Wheeler] Yeah.
Oh, f*ck.
[Twitter tweeting]
[Wallace] You know, I let a lot
of outside influences influence me,
to piss me off, or kind of put me in a...
in a bad mental state.
[somber music playing]
[Hamlin] At the beginning of the year,
I says, you know,
"Stop trying to prove haters wrong.
You will always have haters."
Ultimately, you're gonna think about that
while you're driving a race car.
"You can't do this, you can't do that."
And you make a mistake.
I'm imagining right now
he's not in a good place.
That's why I sent him the text.
It's the text from Mom.
"I've been looking
at some old footage of you."
"It just amazes me how far you've come."
"Just remember the humble beginnings
from which you came from."
Embrace that and go back
to those humble beginnings
when you were winning,
when you were loving racing.
I said, "And then everything else
will come full circle."
"Go get 'em, tiger. Today is a good day
for a win. Love you, son."
Her "Go get 'em, tiger" is...
she's said that from day one.
And so that's, like, a insider for us.
[Desi] Race for Bubba.
[announcer 1] Ready to call the action
this afternoon
on a beautiful Sunday afternoon
from Pocono Raceway.
Pocono is one of those tracks...
Pocono is my...
I don't know what.
I guess it's my, uh, kryptonite.
[engine roaring]
So I think it was 2018,
and then I just about died there.
I had a moment where I was terrified,
like I'd never been terrified before.
I've been scared before
from somebody jumping at you,
but terrified thinking
that you were going to die.
Pocono's front stretch is the longest
straightaway anywhere we go.
And so, you're pushing 180,
and my brakes exploded.
And then, in that split moment,
you have a decision
of turn right and run into the wall
or try to cut through the infield
and get to the back stretch.
I was 50 yards away from hitting
the fence head-on at 160 at that time.
And it's like...
[sucks teeth] "This is it."
[on radio] Oh! No brakes.
[loud thud]
[2018 Pocono announcer 1]
Bubba Wallace slams the wall!
[2018 Pocono announcer 2] Dale, you have
to assume, seeing the 43 in the grass,
he's trying to do anything
to slow that car down,
and what a heavy, heavy impact
into that safer barrier.
[Wallace] Terrified, when you have
the sheer look of terror on your face,
and... you're just saying,
"I'm gonna die. That's it."
[2018 Pocono announcer 3]
It's just really frightening.
[2018 Pocono announcer 1]
And that is the greatest view
we could possibly see.
The window net coming down.
This was a massive hit.
[Desi] As a mom, when they're
going around, and I see wrecks,
the first thing I look for,
"Was the 43 in it?"
Now, this year, "Is the 23 in it?"
That is the first thing that I look for
to make sure that he is okay.
Now, when I'm at the track,
I walk around my baby's car.
I pray over it. I pray over the front,
the side, the back, the top.
I do all of that.
And then I pray for all the drivers.
I don't just pray for my son.
I pray for all the drivers,
'cause I don't want to see anybody hurt.
I've always said, "I never thought
I'd be one of these people."
If anything ever happened
to Bubba out there on the track,
and he was to lose his life,
I would be one of those...
I understand now.
He died doing what he loved to do.
[dramatic music playing]
[Wallace] We climb in each and every day,
and in the back of our minds,
we know it could
potentially be our last race.
[dramatic music continues]
But we have no fear. We go out and do it.
Lord, we getting ready to do it again.
[announcer 1] The 19th race
of the 2021 season
ready to go under the green flag.
The Pocono Raceway, here they come.
Now, 200, 100 feet shy
of the start-finish line.
Green flag goes in the air.
[Wheeler, on radio] Take care of fuel.
Got half-mile of straightaway.
Five on the front of Ryan.
May stack the tunnel up a bit,
so be ready for it.
Take care of fuel.
Save big at the start-finish line.
[Wallace] My spotter and my crew chief
were on me hard about saving fuel.
Every lap, they were telling me,
"Do not go full throttle."
[Wheeler, on radio] Save fuel for me here,
got a long plan here.
Strategy is a big part
of where you finish.
[Wheeler, on radio] Do fuel on the green
and work on damage only. No tires.
Do 4 at the stage.
Only need three seconds of fuel.
[Kraft] The engineering staff
on the pit box,
they know exactly what lap
we're gonna run out of fuel at.
Ultimately, the 23 team
made the decision... to save fuel there,
and it was a gamble.
[Wheeler, on radio] Five, three, two, one.
We pit and filled our car up with fuel.
[machines whirring]
[announcer 2] Take a fuel number,
what you know, as a race team
with your engineering staff,
when you know what your fuel mileage is,
and then work backwards
from the advertised distance.
There's no worse feeling than
when you think you calculated it right,
and your car starts to stumble on fuel.
I don't know if you've run out of fuel
on the highway. About the same feeling.
[announcer 3] Bubba Wallace has
to conserve to get it the final six laps.
[Wallace] Towards the end,
the strategy came into play,
because the last time we pitted
was gonna put us
right at running out of fuel
as we cross the line.
And so, a lot of guys
were in a bad situation
as to where
they were gonna have to pit again.
And so we would pass all those guys.
[announcer 1] Lot of fingernails
being bitten to the quick now,
trying to get to the end of this race.
Laps are drawing to a close.
Question is, does everybody
have enough fuel to go?
Gets down to the last couple laps,
and I remember Freddie saying,
"12 car's coming. Blaney's coming."
[engines roaring]
I'm running him down,
like the last handful of laps.
[Wheeler, on radio] Beat the 12. Beat him
off of turn three. Beat the 12.
Green light.
My crew chief was like, "You got
the green light to flip your fuel switch
and haul a*s back around."
[announcer 2] Getting down
to the nitty-gritty in Pocono.
We have a fuel switch in the car
that gives us one lap of extra fuel.
And so Blaney gets to the inside of me.
[engines roaring]
And I drop the hammer and take off.
[upbeat hip-hop music playing]
Got to my last lap and couldn't pass.
So I was bitter about it,
but happy for him at the same time.
I said, "You sandbagging son of a b*tch.
Had to pick it up when I got to you."
[Kraft, on radio] Go to pump 2.
Green light. Hard as you can.
And ended up beating him.
[Wheeler, on radio] Here's your slow one.
Racing the 41. Clear by 5 on the 12.
Once we knew we were in the green
to take off and race back around,
it was like...
[exhales] ...a big sigh of relief.
[Wheeler, on radio] One more good exit.
Don't burn on the 12 or jack up with 41.
[announcer 3] Kyle Busch looks to
the outside! Hamlin! Hamlin's out of gas!
Hamlin bobbles out of 2!
And they're headed to 3!
[announcer 1] Here comes Busch,
now looking to the outside.
I was like, "All right, sweet.
Seventh, eighth, whatever."
[announcer 2] And Kyle Busch
wins at Pocono!
They were like, "P-5!" And I was like,
"Oh, sh*t. Awesome." I had no idea.
- [Wheeler, on radio] P-5. Nice job, Bub.
- [Wallace] Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Yeah! Good job!
[announcer 2] Harvick, fourth.
Wallace was fifth.
[Wallace] Needed that.
Appreciate the coaching.
Y'all got annoying, but damn, I needed it.
Thank you, Freddie. Thank you, Wheels.
Good job, everybody.
[Wheeler] A big payday.
[Wallace] It's so stressful
for the crew chiefs, engineers, all of us.
Coming home with the first top-five,
top-ten of the year, which was big.
Well... we survived that one.
Second day at Pocono.
Proud of our team. ex*cuted.
Strategy came into, uh,
play there heavily,
and, uh, think we crossed the line
with fumes,
but, uh, just... just proud of everybody.
[Hamlin] It was a great feeling
to finally get their first top-five
there at Pocono.
If we can have Bubba running
in the top ten more consistently,
that's gonna be a good first year for us
and a good building block,
and I think we're very capable of that.
We're on the cusp of it now.
[exhales]
[birds chirping]
What, what, what?
Hey. All right.
So, where am I meeting you?
Gonna meet Lauletta and Wheels
for a quick lunch before our comp meeting.
A lot of what we're gonna talk about
is structure for expansion.
We're heading into
a different time, different era,
starting in 2022, and hopefully
we adapt quicker than others.
Come on. Minivan parking.
Yes!
Oh, look at this.
Chicks are gonna dig it when
I come out of this minivan. [chuckles]
[indistinct conversations]
[Hamlin] Thank you.
Yeah.
- [Lauletta] It's not a priority, but...
- [Hamlin] No, I...
That's why I had the conversation
with you last week saying, like,
"Tell me what help you need,
but let's make sure..."
Like, he's saying, let's hire
the key guys we want in...
- That can do those positions.
- [Wheeler] Senior roles.
- Hundred percent.
- [Hamlin] Yeah.
Ultimately, we need you focused on,
right now, that 23 car,
'cause it is the most
important key factor...
- [Lauletta] Yep.
- ...in this whole thing working.
So... I don't wanna stretch you too thin.
So, I'm saying... tell me what you need,
and I'll go get them.
with Bubba Wallace, an upstart team.
Things move quickly.
We're now gonna be a two-car team in 2022
with, uh, Kurt Busch as his teammate.
[announcer 1] Kurt Busch is gonna win
the Brother Duel! He wins in Atlanta!
[Busch, on radio] That's how you do it!
Way to go, guys!
["Warning" by Skrxlla playing]
♪ If I get it started, I'mma finish ♪
♪ I'm the landlord, you a tenant ♪
♪ You think you got game, you a... ♪
Kurt Busch, a champion,
a veteran of 20 years of Cup racing.
He'd be on the top of the list
for any team.
[announcer 2] Kurt Busch will win!
[announcer 3] This is what a team does
to win a championship.
[announcer 4] Kurt Busch
wins the Daytona 500.
- [announcer 5] Unreal.
- [announcer 6] That was awesome.
Hell yeah!
[automated voice] Warning.
[Hamlin] Well, I expect Bubba
to step up his game.
And, you know,
the results are really gonna be,
uh, looking at his teammate
as a barometer of where he needs to be.
[intense music playing]
[Wallace] This season wasn't
consistent enough to point our way in.
We had some top-ten runs, top-15 runs,
but we also had some top-20 and top-25,
so we're just all over the board.
What is it going to take
for the 23 team to make the playoffs?
For him, at this point in the season,
we look at it and say, "You gotta win."
[announcer 1] Getting set for the 148th
point race on the Daytona oval tonight.
It's the regular season finale
and the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
[thrilling music playing]
[Wallace] We start the season with
the Daytona 500, Super Bowl of our season,
but then to end the regular season,
we go back to Daytona.
A ton of hype. A lot on the line.
[Blaney] Since it's the last race
of the regular season,
it's a lot of drivers' last chance
to get into the playoffs if you win.
[announcer 2] Fifteen drivers locked
into the playoffs, nothing to lose.
Two more that can race in on points.
All they can do is send it...
[announcer 3] ...from his employee,
that's Bubba Wallace, who's up to second.
[announcer 2] ...that's to win.
[Wallace] I know that we can win.
Feeling good about it, feeling confident,
and ready to go perform.
[announcer 4] With the crowd
on their feet, all eyes on the flag stand,
and the green flag is out,
and we are underway.
Drop the green flag,
immediately try to charge to the front.
- [engine roaring]
- [thrilling music playing]
[announcer 5] Denny Hamlin,
he'll go charging up the gut.
Hamlin now gonna look for the lead!
[Wallace] We ended up
pushing Denny to the lead.
[Kraft, on radio] Half in front,
won't block. 11's in front.
Still there. Don't get too far out.
Still there, bottom. You're clear now.
[Wallace] Seen him sh**t
through the middle at the beginning,
and I'm like, "I can go and help him."
I get to second fairly quick,
and we're sitting there riding.
That's when, kind of, the races start.
[Wheeler, on radio] 24 trying to pop.
Stay patient with the 11.
[announcer 3] Hamlin the new race leader.
He got a big shove from behind.
- [engines roaring]
- [thrilling music continues]
[announcer 3] Much like in Las Vegas,
the deck is being shuffled again here
at Daytona International Speedway.
Bubba Wallace to the inside
of Denny Hamlin. He's gonna try to lead.
[announcer 4] Green-and-white checkered
flag flying at the start-finish line.
Chase Elliott led a bunch of laps.
He's gonna pick up the stage win
here tonight at Daytona.
- [Wallace, on radio] Need a little water.
- [Wheeler] 10-4. Cool it down here.
[announcer 3] Here's how they'll line up.
It'll be William Byron and Denny Hamlin
on the front row
with Kevin Harvick and Bubba Wallace
lining up third and fourth.
[Wheeler] Bub, as you know,
little shy on fuel.
I got tire pressure. No, that's good.
Weather looks to be a non-factor as well.
Keep racing hard.
[announcer 4] Daytona lights up,
and pace car to pit road.
We're ready to put them
back under the green flag.
[dramatic music playing]
[Wheeler] Pick up 22 in your mirror.
[announcer 2] Here comes Bubba Wallace.
Best he's run all night.
Harvick is gonna bust a move.
He'll go to the outside lane.
[Kraft] Still there top.
Whatever you want.
[announcer 2] Looking for drafting help,
here it comes!
He was really aggressive
and pushed me for a little while.
He was an animal.
And we were able to go to the front.
[announcer 3] Chastain comes to the bottom
to block Blaney and Bubba and company,
while Harvick gets the run
in a challenge for the lead!
I could see
the intensity crank up for him.
[announcer 3] It's a Toyota up front.
It's Bubba Wallace
showing the way here at Daytona.
[announcer 2] Twenty laps to go.
[announcer 3] Caution flag will fly.
Two cars get together.
Caution comes out. We do our pit stop.
[announcer 2] Here come Toyotas.
Now it's like, the intensity
starts to kind of amplify.
[announcer 3] Fifteen to go,
and all heck is gonna break loose.
We got a lot on the line right now,
and I'm telling you what,
when they drop that flag, it'll be,
"Go as hard as you possibly can
and take every chance you can take
till the end of this race."
[Wallace] You start to become
a bit more aggressive.
[thrilling music playing]
[Wallace] You don't wanna give up spots.
[Kraft] Let the 8 come to you.
Then the wrecks start to happen.
[announcer 3] Truex gets turned mid-pack,
up and into the outside wall!
He'll slide across the infield grass!
[Kraft] Down, down, down. Watch as he's
coming across. Check up.
It's ten to go,
but something is going to happen.
[announcer 2] Ten laps to go
here at Daytona.
The field now picking up speed.
Green flag back in the air.
[announcer 3] They're gonna wreck
off turn four.
Leaders get together to the outside wall.
The pack blows apart off of turn four.
Nearly all the race leaders involved,
spinning and crashing to the straightaway.
[Wallace] We had to come down pit road
and miss the wreck.
[Wheeler] Your track's blocked. Pit road.
Watch him coming across. Pit road.
We were able to escape through that.
It's like, "That was a pretty big crash,
took out some good cars."
"Is there gonna be another one?"
[announcer 3] Green goes in the air.
Outside lane is Buescher.
Inside lane is Ryan Blaney.
It's like, "Now all bets are off."
You know, we have to win.
[Kraft] Go middle three.
Middle has momentum.
And just trying to just hold it wide open
and whatever happens happens.
Then a wreck happens.
[announcer 3] Here comes Suarez!
He'll turn Harvick!
The entire pack is crashing!
And I had a split decision, avoid,
do your best to pick your way through,
or just say, "f*ck it,"
and accept that
this is gonna be a hard hit,
or hopefully make it through.
sh*t starts doing this.
You're like... "f*ck it. Here we go."
- [tires screeching]
- [intense music playing]
And I just gassed back up.
- [tires screeching]
- [intense music continues]
Through the smoke, can't see anything,
and then, boom, we come out third.
[announcer 2] Ryan Blaney winning.
Buescher, second.
This is unofficial. Bubba Wallace, third.
And I was like, "Yes!"
But then the race was over with.
[on radio] Appreciate the effort all year.
Sucks it came down to that,
but walk out of here
with a top five, hopefully.
[Wheeler] We're a little short
on making the playoffs,
but all of us gotta keep progressing,
make sure we do that final ten strong.
You immediately go from, "It was awesome,"
to pissed off because you didn't win.
And so that was... That was it.
I-I've been pissed off
ever since because we didn't win.
You know, later that night, we found out
that the 17 who finished second,
he got DQ'd
for an ill*gal part on the race car.
And you could see them,
all race long, throwing sparks.
Come to find out,
they got DQ'd for that part.
And so we ended up second,
which makes it sting that much more.
Am I excited about finishing second?
No.
Just because of the scenario
that we were in.
And so that's, uh... That was tough.
Bubba has a ceiling
higher than what most people see,
and maybe even what he sees.
I still believe that Bubba is a driver
that will win races in the Cup Series.
He will make the playoffs in the course
of his career. He's gonna be that guy.
[Gibbs] He's gonna be at the top level
competing against the best in the world.
He has said to me, "That's all I want."
"I want a chance to have the best
and race against the best."
I think he's excited about that,
and I think he's in
a great place right now.
[Wheeler] Obviously, he's got
a lot of weight on his shoulders,
but we try to make sure that weight's off
his shoulder, he can be a race car driver.
[Strahan] He stands on the shoulders
of Jim Brown
and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali,
all these great athletes who, before him,
were activists, and they spoke out,
regardless of what
it was gonna cost them in their sport.
So, I think that Bubba
has a great list of people
to follow, whose shoulders
he can now stand on.
But I guarantee others
are gonna stand on Bubba's shoulders,
because he's inspiring
the next generation,
who feels like something needs to change
for the better of everyone, to stand up.
And when they do,
they'll be standing on the shoulders
of Bubba Wallace.
[engines roaring]
[machines whirring]
- [crew 1] His engine?
- [crew 2] Yep.
All the way, all the way.
[woman] I started in 2016
in the NASCAR Driver Diversity Program,
and then I was, you know, the first
Black woman NASCAR pit crew member.
I've always been, you know, a Bubba fan.
Knowing the history of NASCAR,
you know, there's not
that many Black people.
To have the one and only Black driver
at the very highest level, the Cup Series,
you know, making his mark...
You know, like,
who wouldn't root for that, you know?
The impact that Bubba has on me,
from being the only Black driver
in Cup right now,
is someone to... to look up to
and to lean on,
and really going through similar stuff.
You know, when all that stuff
went down in June last year,
seeing Bubba take that stand,
it was gratifying, personally,
because, you know, that was stuff
that I've felt for a while...
Basically, for as...
as long as I can remember.
[Daniels] When I seen that,
I was like, "My God." I'd never...
Just knowing what NASCAR was, like...
I'm... Sorry. [small sob]
[voice breaking] Um...
[sniffles] Just knowing what NASCAR
was before, and seeing that...
[sniffles] Like...
Like, it meant a lot, you know? Just...
[emotional music playing]
From when I came to this sport, like...
It's like, I never thought I'd see the day
that this would happen. You know?
So... that's why I've been giving it
chances and chances,
that's why I didn't give up,
because I wanted to finally see the day
where change was happening, you know?
And, um...
You know, I was like, "Oh my God."
I was like, "Look at God." [chuckles]
And, um, I'm... I'm here for it.
If you think about what happened in 2020,
Bubba emerged from being just a driver
to being someone who was iconic,
and it will be important for the sport,
and he will be a decades-long
important figure for NASCAR.
[Gibbs] I think our sport,
it-it belongs to everyone.
And Bubba is part of breaking through,
from a diversity standpoint, in our sport.
[Strahan] What Bubba represents for NASCAR
is something that has been needed
for a long time,
that just hasn't happened.
This is a perfect time for someone
to come in and ask for change
and make change happen.
It's people like Bubba that come along,
that... that change the way we think,
and create new norms
and create conversation.
It's just that people see.
People see what's going on with Bubba,
and people see what's going on
with those who wake us up and shake us
and show us what else is possible.
[Strahan] Having Bubba Wallace in NASCAR
is an asset to NASCAR.
Having Michael Jordan in NASCAR
is an asset to NASCAR.
That it's not a sport
for white people or Black people,
it's a sport for everybody,
and I think that's what everybody wants.
We just want inclusion.
[emotional music continues]
[producer] So, 50 years from now,
what do you want people
to know about Darrell Wallace Jr.?
[blows raspberry]
I don't know.
A kid that wanted it bad.
And hopefully he can get it done.
When I started out,
I didn't know if I'd be where I am today.
I wanted this to be a series
to show what it takes to be successful.
Just have to wait till that day comes.
[2021 Talladega announcer 1]
Keselowski gets a shove from Logano,
as Kurt Busch
will give the shove to Bubba!
[2021 Talladega announcer 2] Wallace,
the race leader, bottom of the track.
[2021 Talladega announcer 1]
Back to the bottom, here comes Logano,
full head of steam, at the middle.
[2021 Talladega announcer 3]
It is official here at Talladega,
and Bubba Wallace, the winner
of the YellaWood 500 at Talladega.
- Bubba Wallace.
- [Wallace] Yeah! Let's go!
[all cheering]
- [cheering continues]
- [Wallace] Yeah!
[2021 Talladega announcer 4]
He's the second African American
to ever win
at the highest level of NASCAR.
- Let's go!
- Proud of you!
[2021 Talladega announcer 4] Over 50 years
ago, Wendell Scott was the first.
This is to all those kids out there
that wanna have an opportunity,
in whatever they wanna achieve,
and be the best at what they want to do.
You're gonna go through
a lot of bullshit, um,
but you always gotta stay true
to your path,
and not let the nonsense get to you.
And, uh, stay strong,
stay humble, stay hungry.
Uh, plenty of times
where I wanted to give up.
Surround yourself with the right people,
and it's moments like this you appreciate.
You can always go back
to the history books, and be like,
"There's at least one win."
[photographer] One, two, three!
- [all cheering]
- [uplifting 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
Oh, hard, hard ♪
♪ And oh my God
I 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 ♪
♪ To know 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]
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