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CONCORD, NC — As it has been for many NASCAR drivers, this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway has been an emotional one for Bubba Wallace.The driver of the No. 23 Toyota for Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin's 23XI Racing didn’t come into the driver bullpen on Saturday, May 23 to talk to reporters. Before taking practice laps on Saturday, Wallace walked alone to a section of the infield grass where Kyle Busch’s No. 8 is printed. Wallace kneeled down and had a quiet moment to himself.Busch died on Thursday due to what his family called complications from severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. His shocking death has left the motorsports community stunned, and what is normally a weekend full of celebrating the sport, a somber mood has hovered over the garages.Wallace finally spoke publicly about what Busch meant to him on Sunday, May 24 in an interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith.“It’s been a tough couple of days, for sure. It’s not easy at all,” Wallace said. “What Kyle has done … that’s legacy. The way he formed your life, the way he provided opportunities and helped you capitalize on those. When I heard the news, I just broke down and thought about how everything in front of me is because of him. To be able to race and share the same racetrack — it’s an incredible loss for our community and for the world. I think Denny said it best, ‘We lost our Kobe Bryant.’“Yesterday was really hard climbing in the car on pit road for practice, but tonight, for the 600, it’s going to be incredibly tough just knowing he’s not out there with us, giving it his all.”Wallace is one of many drivers currently racing in NASCAR’s top-level Cup Series that raced for Busch’s Truck Series team, Kyle Busch Motorsports. Wallace raced in four NASCAR Xfinity Series races for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2012, but Busch gave him his first full-time ride in the No. 54 Toyota truck for KBM.Across 44 races in two seasons in 2013 and 2014 for KBM, Wallace won five truck races and placed in the top five in nine others. When Wallace won in the Truck Series at Martinsville in 2013, he became just the second Black driver to win a race in one of NASCAR’s top three national touring competitions, and the first since Wendell Scott in 1963. Currently, Wallace is the only Black driver competing in the Cup Series full-time.As he talked to Smith, Wallace recounted a lesson that Busch taught him during a practice at Michigan when his car was feeling loose. When Wallace got out of his truck, Busch walked over and told him, “Trust me, drive through. Let that edge get out there and it’s going to catch you.”It’s a message that Wallace still hears in his head when he’s out on the racetrack driving at dangerously high speeds.“Every time I’m loose, I think about Kyle,” Wallace said. “Can I drive it past where this edge is at? He taught me to trust myself and what I feel and I believe, and push for more.”Wallace is 10th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings this season with six top 10 finishes. His last win came at the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis last season.
