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After cameras caught Wallace collapsing in his
crew members' arms following the conclusion of the race, Fox
interviewed him while he was seated along pit road, and he
appeared to begin to faint again live on camera.
The events concluded a long, humid and emotional day in Atlanta,
which began with Wallace wearing an "I Can't Breathe" t-shirt
before the race and saw all 40 cars stop during the warm-up laps
as NASCAR president Steve Phelps delivered a message over their
headsets pledging to address racial injustice in the wake of the
killing of George Floyd.
Wallace is the only black driver currently in the Cup Series,
and also took part in a video in which numerous NASCAR drivers
called for social justice. Fox played the video before Sunday's
race, as well.
During the speech, pit crew members stood on the wall in front
of their pit boxes and a black NASCAR official could be seen
kneeling on one knee -- a gesture seen throughout the world by
people protesting over Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis
police last month and one used by former San Francisco 49ers
quarterback Colin Kaepernick during the playing of the national
anthem in 2016 to protest police mistreatment of black people.
After the Fox TV crew interviewed race winner Kevin Harvick, the
broadcast showed video of Wallace appearing to get lightheaded
while talking to members of his crew following the race before
collapsing in their arms. Fox then interviewed Wallace on live
air as the driver sat on the wall along pit road.
"I don't even know. Long race I guess," Wallace said when asked
by pit road interviewer Jamie Little what happened after the
race. "I stood up too fast. Well I guess I was told I was going
to do media, and sat down and got up too fast, and I got dizzy,
got lightheaded.
"I feel fine now. Quick scare for everybody."
He then began explaining how his race went -- he finished 21st
and one lap down -- but then appeared to again get lightheaded,
bowing his head down and closing his eyes.
As a member of his crew grabbed him, a voice could be heard
saying, "where's medical?"
"He is not OK," Little said before cameras cut away.
Fox later showed Wallace sitting on the wall, alert and
surrounded by crew members, with Fox NASCAR announcer Mike Joy
saying, "Bubba Wallace is OK, being tended to by medical
personnel."
On Sunday night, Wallace tweeted:
"Got sent to the Gulag.. Won that... Where we dropping. Aka I'm
good."
Wallace, 26, is in his fourth season on the Cup circuit, and his
third driving full time for Richard Petty Motorsports. He has
yet to win in 86 career Cup starts but has two top fives and six
top 10s. He finished in 10th place last weekend at Bristol, his
second top 10 of the season.
--Field Level Media
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