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His victory in the YellaWood 500 came after a rainstorm cut the
race short with Wallace in the lead, making him the first Black
driver to win a race in NASCAR's premier series since Wendell
Scott did so in 1963.
"I never think about those things," Wallace said when asked
about his historic achievement.
"But when you say it like that, it obviously brings a lot of
emotion, a lot of joy to my family, fans, friends. It's pretty
damn cool. Just proud to be a winner in the Cup Series."
Wallace won in a car owned by basketball great Michael Jordan
and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, who last year
partnered to form a new single-car NASCAR Cup Series team with
Wallace as the driver.
Wallace was thrust into the spotlight last year when his calls
for NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag -- which many Americans
see as a symbol of oppression -- at all events were ultimately
adopted.
The driver was later thought to have been a victim of a racial
attack when a noose, a symbol connected to lynching and
America's slave history, was found in his garage at Talladega
Superspeedway.
The noose, according to NASCAR, was actually a garage door pull
rope fashioned like a noose and the U.S. Justice Department said
after an FBI investigation that Wallace was not the target of a
hate crime.
Although the racing world rallied behind him during the
incident, Wallace would later come under fire from then U.S.
President Donald Trump over the incident.
"This is for all those kids out there who want to have an
opportunity in whatever they want to achieve, and be the best at
what they want to do," said Wallace.
"You are going to go through a lot of (BS), but you always got
to stick true to your path and not let the nonsense get to you.
"Stay strong. Stay humble. Stay hungry. There have been plenty
of times when I wanted to give up. And you surround yourself
with the right people, and it's moments like this that you
appreciate."
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Christian
Radnedge)
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