Bubba Wallace on Netflix series, bringing Black fans to NASCAR: ‘I think it’s special’
The Netflix series captures Wallace and the current NASCAR season, while diving into specific moments throughout his career as a Black driver
Bubba Wallace‘s Netflix series is officially here. After months of anticipation, Race: Bubba Wallace, has dropped on the streaming service, and theGrio caught up with the historic NASCAR driver and the director of the project, Erik Parker, to break down the limited series, Wallace’s legacy and more.
Race: Bubba Wallace follows Wallace’s experience as a Black NASCAR driver, specifically focusing on his newly formed team and the current season, theGrio previously reported. When speaking to theGrio‘s Cortney Wills, Wallace opened up about being a Black NASCAR driver and what it means to bring the Black community to a sport that they may not have always felt welcomed in.
“There was the race this past weekend in L.A., the clash at the Coliseum,” Wallace recalled. “You know, the amount of support that was there which was really cool. I mean, you had Reggie Bush, his family was there, Jemele Hill was there, Jermaine Dupri was there. Ice Cube was there. And then even just the fan base, the people in the stands watching the race…was super dope to see. And so just the atmosphere was something that you definitely didn’t want to miss.”
He added, “If I sit there and take enough time to think about it, that’s like, yeah, I had a little bit to do with that. But at the same time, I feel like, you know, they’ve seen what NASCAR is just doing as a sport, and it’s not all about me and that they want to come support our sport as a whole. So, yeah, I think it’s special.”
Parker, when discussing his main goal in directing the series, explained, “I absolutely wanted to tell this story in real time of history in the making, and I think we captured that, but it’s also a snapshot, you know, in the 2020 season, when Bubba spoke out about what was happening in NASCAR and on racial justice, social justice issues. We wanted to capture that moment.”
Race: Bubbba Wallace is available to stream now on Netflix.
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