Yahoo Finance Bubba Wallace Will Get Candid in ESPN Special: 'Not Going to Stop Hearing About the Black Driver'
ESPN
Fans are about to see a new side of NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace.
Wallace, 28, will be the focus of an upcoming ESPN E60 special titled Fistful of Steel - The Rise of Bubba Wallace, the network announced this week.
"Featuring exclusive interviews with his immediate family and some of the biggest names in racing, Fistful of Steel delves into the history of race in NASCAR and provides an unprecedented portrait of Wallace, whom viewers see as never before," said ESPN in a news release.
On its Twitter page, E60 shared a trailer of the upcoming documentary that includes interviews with Wallace's family members and officials from NASCAR.
"You know his name ... but not his story. The most polarizing driver in America like you've never seen him before," the E60 Twitter post said.
RELATED: Bubba Wallace Says 'You Never Give Up' Nine Months After Noose Incident: NASCAR Is About 'Patience'
You know his name ... but not his story.
The most polarizing driver in America like you've never seen him before.
Fistful of Steel: The Rise of Bubba Wallace
Coming December 14th pic.twitter.com/jzCGktRnj4— E60 (@E60) December 2, 2021
RELATED: Bubba Wallace Says NASCAR Is 'More Inclusive' Now Than Ever: 'All People' Are 'Always Welcome'
At the beginning of the trailer, Wallace says, "I am the only one, so embrace that I am Black, accept it and enjoy the journey because you are not going to stop hearing about the Black driver."
Among the topics that Wallace and his contemporaries are expected to discuss in the 90-minute doc is the 2020 noose incident that made countless headlines.
In June 2020, a reported noose was found hanging in the Talladega Superspeedway garage assigned to Wallace for a Cup Series race. NASCAR notified Wallace of the discovery and an FBI investigation followed.
The FBI ultimately determined that months earlier someone had fashioned a noose out of the pull-down rope for the garage door, but the agency declined to describe it as an intentional racist act. At the time, NASCAR President Steve Phelps said "the noose was real, as was our concern for Bubba."
Before the noose incident, Wallace — who is the sole Black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series — had become vocal about racial injustice. His activism even helped push NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag at all of its events and properties.
"Treating everyone equal is not political, but when the Black guy says it's political, oh well," Wallace adds on the topic at the end of the trailer.
The special also details Wallace's experiences in his youth, including the killing of his cousin Sean by police in 2003.
Fistful of Steel - The Rise of Bubba Wallace is will air on Dec. 14 starting 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.
