Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing earned a nomination for Sportsman of the Year at the BET Awards 2022 (8 p.m. ET on Sunday). The organization called out the NASCAR Cup Series driver’s contributions on and off the track for reasons why he was in contention for the award.
RELATED: Bubba Wallace driver page | Full Cup Series standings
Wallace’s Netflix docuseries, “Race: Bubba Wallace,” was released earlier this year and highlighted the driver’s experience with newfound social activism and his role in helping the sport become more inclusive.
In addition, Wallace won his first Cup Series race in 2021 at Talladega Superspeedway, joining Wendell Scott as the only Black drivers to win in NASCAR’s top series.
Other nominees for the award include Aaron Donald (Los Angeles Rams), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies), LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) and Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors).
With 10 regular-season races left in 2022, Wallace was in 25th place in the points standings, 139 points below the playoff cutline. His best finish this season was second place in the Daytona 500.
After a week off for Father’s Day, the Cup Series was set to resume Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway with the Ally 400 (5 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).