On Valentine’s Day 2021, Michael Jordan will show Bubba Wallace some love and together they will make history.
When the 23XI Racing car enters the track on Sunday at the Daytona 500, it will be the first time in modern-day NASCAR Cup Series history that both the principal owner and driver of a full-time team are Black.
Michael Jordan and Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr.’s historical union will be on full display tomorrow afternoon, and it’s no gimmick or flash in the pan show. This is the real thing.
“I don’t want to lose,” said Jordan per the NY Times. “Everybody’s going to look at Michael Jordan getting involved in the sport. But the first thing they’re going to say is that he wants to win, which isn’t false. I want to win, but I want to be given the opportunity to win, and the opportunity to win is to make sure that my driver has all the right equipment.
“It’s going to be up to him ultimately, but if he has it, he has a chance. That’s what I believe.”
It’s a chance that Black drivers have desired for decades.
Almost 60 years ago. that chance arrived for pioneering driver and history maker, Wendell Scott. On March 4th, 1961, Scott became the first Black full-time driver in NASCAR series history. Driving on a shoe-string budget and in used cars, Scott competed with the help of his wife and seven children who worked on the cars. And despite being denied access to hotel rooms, restaurants, and other services in the South, Scott persevered.
That perseverance channeled itself into Bubba Wallace six decades later. He is the only Black full-time driver currently in the Cup Series and tomorrow will culminate in a day sixty years in the making.
“Diversity is taking a huge leap in the right direction, I believe,” said Wallace to CNN Sport. “[But] still a lot of work to be done. But for MJ and a person of his stature to come through and want to be an owner in a sport and show like, ‘Hey the sport is changing,’ hopefully it encourages others to want to do the same.”
The change centers around Wallace, who was front and center last season in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. He donned a shirt emblazoned with “I Can’t Breathe” and “Black Lives Matter”. He called for the banning of the Confederate Flag from NASCAR races. In a sign of solidarity, his car was escorted by other NASCAR drivers to the starting line at the June 22nd, 2020 race in Talladega, Alabama. A few days later, a noose was found in his garage. As the days progressed, a backlash formed against Bubba. Some accused him of instrumenting a hoax for attention. An FBI investigation cleared his name and deemed the rope had been there for some time, but social media exerted its toll against NASCAR’s only Black driver.
While the stress found its mark, the 27-year old Wallace pressed on. A year later, he’s reinvigorated and excited for a fresh start with Jordan and Hamlin this season.
But make no mistake. Jordan doesn’t just want a place in the history books. He wants to win.
“[So], I’m all about winning,” said Jordan. “And if I have a chance to win, I will put the effort, resources, or the support that I need to, to support Denny, to support Bubba, whoever else we may get as a driver, just as long as I know we can win.”
In 1961, Wendell Scott took his place in history. On December 1st, 1963, he did it again when he became the first Black driver to win a NASCAR race. On Sunday, February 14th, 2021, Bubba Wallace takes his first shot in a historical season for him, Jordan, and 23XI Racing.
All he has to do now is win.
