Darrell Wallace, Jr.

Biography

William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. (born October 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing. Wallace was previously a development driver in Toyota's driver development program where he drove part-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series and full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series. He then moved over to Ford and their driver development program and competed full-time for Roush Fenway Racing in the Xfinity Series. After competing in select Cup Series races for Richard Petty Motorsports in their famous No. 43 as an injury replacement for Aric Almirola, Wallace became a full-time driver for RPM in the same car when Almirola left the team, which was his first full-time ride in the Cup Series. Wallace has been the only full-time African American driver in NASCAR's three national series (Cup, Xfinity, and Truck) each year he has competed in them. He is the only African American driver to win more than once in any of these series, which has made him one of the most successful African American drivers in the history of NASCAR. In addition, in June 2020, Wallace became known for his activism on racial justice in response to the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, which led to NASCAR strengthening their actions and efforts in this area, highlighted by them banning the display of the Confederate flag at their tracks.