Fourth Annual NASCAR Diversity Luncheon Spotlights Excellence

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR celebrated the outstanding accomplishments of pioneering individuals and organizations in the area of diversity at the fourth annual NASCAR Diversity Luncheon.

“Teams, tracks, sponsors and other stakeholders play a vital role in our efforts to further diversify our sport,” said Marcus Jadotte, NASCAR managing director of public affairs. “The NASCAR Diversity Awards are a small way to say thank you and recognize a few special people who create awareness and opportunity in NASCAR.”

At a ceremony held at The Daytona 500 Club at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR recognized the following individuals and organizations across the industry for their outstanding impact:

Drive for Diversity Participant: Darrell Wallace Jr.
Darrell Wallace Jr. became the first African American and youngest driver in history to win a race in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. Darrell was also crowned rookie of the year and became the first African American to achieve the honor. Wallace Jr., 17, who lives in Concord, N.C., started racing when he was 9 years old and has found plenty of success along the way. In 2009, Wallace was named a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. With support from JGR, he competed with his family-operated team in a number of late model events throughout the Southeast. He won his first late model race at Franklin County Speedway (Callaway, Va.) in 2008, becoming the youngest driver to win a late model race at the historic speedway, at age 14. He graduated last month from North West Cabarrus High School in Concord, N.C., on the honor roll.

Young Racer Award: Elijah Bacon
Elijah Bacon, 12, hails from Mooresville, N.C., where an interest in auto racing blossomed. Bacon, who is African American, was identified for the Revolution Racing Youth Driver Program last year after a community auto racing event at the New Birth Church in Huntersville, N.C. Last year marked his first year in racing, driving Bandoleros for Revolution Racing where he had three podium finishes. His most memorable experience came when he finished second in just the third race of his career.

NASCAR Diversity Internship Program Award: Kathryn Lee and Brittani Parker
Kathryn Lee, 20, of Jacksonville, Fla., interned last summer in the NASCAR Human Resources department in Daytona Beach, Fla. She’s currently a senior at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Some of the projects she worked on included “Bring Your Kids to Work Day,” NASCAR University, and creating the framework for the new NASCAR employment website. Lee also did administrative research, including employee reference and background checks, and researching job posting databases.

Brittani Parker, 22, of Winston-Salem, N.C., was an intern last summer with The NASCAR Foundation in Charlotte where she performed a number of key duties. She’s a graduate of Winston-Salem State University. Parker also served as lead coordinator for a NASCAR Foundation-sponsored event at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, where 3,000 inner city youth and 1,000 business community members came together at the Hall of Fame to celebrate summer learning and the Freedom Schools program. She assisted with NASCAR Day projects, including event planning and project coordination of the Ronald McDonald playground built in Kansas City, and coordinated donor receipts and gift records for events such as the Rusty Wallace Roast in Iowa.

The NASCAR Diversity Internship Program is a 10-week paid summer internship program that exposes students to the many career opportunities within the motorsports industry.

Educational Institutional Award: Virginia State University
Virginia State University is awarded this prestigious honor because of their role in shaping tomorrow’s industry leaders. The school has set a high standard of excellence in the motorsports industry, and it is a prime example of the level of involvement and passion its students portray in regard to NASCAR and the entire motorsports industry. The institution has inspired and raised the student body’s interest and appreciation of motorsports. Professor Dr. Leon Bey received the award on behalf of Virginia State University, who has made great contributions to the advancement of the motorsports program at the school.

NASCAR Partner Award: Toyota
Toyota is recognized for their exemplary effort to incorporate diversity and inclusion within the motorsports industry. Toyota will be a vital component of Revolution Racing, the team all NASCAR Drive for Diversity racers will drive for this coming season. They have recognized the value and accomplishments of the team’s mission and will play a major role in the success of Revolution Racing. Revolution Racing will be the only team in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East without an affiliation to a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team that will receive Toyota Racing Development support.

Toyota was the primary sponsor to Darrell Wallace Jr.’s No. 6 car at the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown last month, and they will have a year-long primary sponsorship of one car in both the NASCAR K& Pro Series East and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

Industry Ambassador Award: Phil Horton
Phil Horton is the strength and conditioning coach for Revolution Racing, and is a 10-year veteran in NASCAR. Horton is a former pit crew coach for Chip Ganassi Racing, and driver Juan Pablo Montoya. He has accumulated 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup, 11 NASCAR Nationwide Series and five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series wins with notable drivers such as Rick Crawford, Jason Keller, Dale Jarrett, and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Horton is honored for being an outstanding figure in this industry for his commitment to diversity in the motorsports industry, growing the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Crew Member Development Program, and his ability to bring talented people to the program. A total of 40 athletes have participated in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Crew Member Development Program since its inception in 2004, and last year program participants competed in 160 races, including 34 at the NASCAR Camping World Truck or NASCAR Nationwide Series levels. Horton is from Lenoir, N.C.

Has Strong Support, Solid Game Plan For Pocono Debut

LONG POND, Pa. — Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. entered the Pocono Raceway garage early Friday morning walking alongside and chatting with NASCAR’s biggest superstar, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

As always, a huge crowd of adoring NASCAR fans excitedly made their way toward the pair.

Only this time, they didn’t just make a beeline to Earnhardt. They surrounded Wallace — offering him congratulatory back slaps and good luck wishes as he prepared to make his first ever Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start Sunday, driving for Richard Petty Motorsports as a substitute for the injured Aric Almirola.

Wallace, 23, will be the fourth African-American to compete in NASCAR’s marquee division and the first since 2006 when Bill Lester made two starts for Bill Davis Racing with a best showing of 32nd at Michigan.

But the prevailing good feeling here toward Wallace isn’t only about this important history — it’s about important opportunity.

“I was talking about this the other day and it’s pretty cool to see how many people are in my corner,” Wallace said. “You don’t think about that on a normal basis. This is a big opportunity to prove myself and make them all very happy.”

The reality is most people are already pleased for Wallace, one of the most popular and outgoing drivers in the sport. The support inside and outside the garage has been tremendous on all levels.

“Jimmie Johnson reached out pretty much as soon as we announced it,” Wallace said of the sport’s reigning seven-time champion. “He said, ‘See you on Sundays now, bro.’ I was like, ‘All right, that’s cool. That’s really cool.’

“He said that if I needed anything to reach out to him. … At the end of the day it’s just a race car with a little bit more horsepower, a little bit bigger venue, a little bit bigger crowd, but at the end of the day I’ve been waiting for this moment for 15 years or however long I’ve been racing — a long time. Now it’s finally here, so it’s just another stroll in the park.”

Perhaps more of a jog, Wallace conceded Friday after qualifying the No. 43 Smithfield Foods Ford 16th on Sunday’s starting grid. This is the big time. And the sport’s Drive for Diversity graduate and Rev Racing product has spent a lifetime preparing himself for this moment.

MORE: Inside Wallace’s rise from Rev Racing

Almost immediately after his family moved from Alabama to the Charlotte area to better position Wallace in the sport, he established himself as a driver to watch.

He won his first start in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East at Greenville, South Carolina, at age 16.

In his first four NASCAR XFINITY starts in 2012 — at the age of 18 — he had three top-10 finishes and won the pole position at Dover International Speedway.

A year later, Wallace won his first NASCAR national series event, a Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville, only weeks after his 19th birthday. Since then he has collected four more truck series victories and 34 top-10 finishes in 84 XFINITY Series starts.

He was ranked fourth in the XFINITY Series championship before his Roush Fenway Racing team announced this week it will withdraw from full-time competition to pursue sponsorship following his start at Pocono on Saturday.

It all makes the timing of Wallace’s ride in the No. 43 serendipitous. And Wallace intends to make full use of his “big chance,” hoping to parlay this part-time opportunity in the big leagues into a full-time job in the Monster Energy Series next year.

That starts this weekend in Pocono, where Wallace is determined to turn in a good effort. Aside from preparing for the XFINITY Series race on Saturday, Wallace joked about his lack of time on track — only two hour-long Monster Energy Series practice sessions — saying “We decided to pick the weekend where I get the least amount of practice possible.”

The goal for Wallace is in doing well enough in these starts (Almirola is expected to be out 5-9 more weeks) that he gets a chance to race full time in the series. It may start with big results this weekend, or it may be a combination of his efforts in the next few weeks.

Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Daniel Suarez was quick to offer support and encouragement. He also got a rather sudden and unexpected opportunity in the Monster Energy Series ranks, taking over the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after veteran Carl Edward’s unanticipated retirement this past offseason.

“It’s a lot going on, a lot of interviews. … But it’s a lot of opportunity,” Suarez said, adding, “When we’re 8 or 10 years old, we dream to be in this position and luckily we get this opportunity. I’m very happy for him. I’ve known him since racing in the K&N Series.”

Wallace’s new boss, NASCAR’s “King” Richard Petty is optimistic about his new driver and sympathetic to all the attention being directed toward his young driver.

“Well, it’s going to be different, especially since this is his first race in the Cup Series and there’s a lot of pressure on him, not a lot of pressure on us,” Petty said. “It really comes down to how he adapts to the Cup Series deal, and we’re willing to give him a chance.”

Petty smiled and conceded there’s only so much the 200-time race winner could do to help Wallace behind the wheel.

“We’ve talked a little bit about what the car’s doing but I can’t help him. … It’s been so long since I’ve been in the car,” Petty said. “He’s got a lot of attention, so maybe being bolted down in the car he’ll settle down. He’s got it handled.”

Wallace was 19th fastest in his first Monster Energy Series practice Friday, and only Trevor Bayne ran more laps (22 laps to Wallace’s 21). He advanced to the second round of qualifying and will start 16th on the grid — ahead of his friend Johnson (19th).

“I don’t know what more I could ask for,” Wallace said. “These guys are awesome, all pumped up to be here and it’s a good showing for our Smithfield Ford. Hopefully, RP (Richard Petty) likes it, the King’s been smiling about it. He gave me a little fist pump earlier.’

“It’s a big moment for me and a big moment for the sport. Sunday is all about driving a clean race. Don’t make anybody mad, try to gain and earn respect and prove myself to everybody. I’m looking just for a good, solid race and gaining respect from the veterans here and to prove to everybody that I belong in the series.”