History was made Saturday night in NASCAR—though most people may not know of it and who the subject of it is.
Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. was brought into NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program and on Saturday, made his debut in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 at Greenville Pickens Speedway.
Wallace Jr. ran well all night long and on the final lap of the race, he made the move and took the lead from fellow rookie Cole Whitt to cross the finish line first and win the race.
With this win, Wallace Jr. became the first African-American to win in series history and the youngest winner ever in the K&N Pro Series East (16 years, 5 months, and 19 days).
The previous youngest winner with Brett Moffitt (16 years, 9 months, and 27 days) with his win last season at South Boston Speedway.
Wallace Jr. also gave the Drive for Diversity program its first East victory in history. The program had accomplished two wins previously in the K&N Pro Series West, yet this marked on the East side.
Wallace Jr. started racing when he was nine years old and in 2005, he won 35 of the 48 Bandolero races he entered. He won the championship that year and became the first driver in history to win all six races of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Winter Heat on the way to the title.
In 2006, he moved up to the Late Models and registered 11 wins and 34 top 10s in 38 races.
In 2007, he moved up to the late model division and competed in a variety of tracks. In 2008, his late model career took off as he became the youngest Late Model feature winner at Franklin County Speedway. His 2009 season included three wins and 11 top fives in 23 starts, nine of which were UARA Late Model races.
In 2010, he was pinned to be one of the Drive for Diversity Program drivers and is also a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. Joe Gibbs Racing has already pulled talents like Joey Logano and Matt DiBenedetto from the K&N Pro Series in the past.