Bubba Wallace Becomes the First Black Driver to Win a NASCAR Cup Series Race in Almost 60 Years

Bubba Wallace
Bubba Wallace
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Bubba Wallace made history on Monday, becoming the first Black race car driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race since Wendell Scott in 1963.

The star driver, 27, was seen on NASCAR's Twitter account early Monday afternoon jumping and hugging teammates shortly after his victory.

Wallace's win came during the rain-delayed YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, in a race that saw him beat Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher.

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It was the first victory for a Black driver in NASCAR's premier series since Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Scott won at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida, on Dec. 1, 1963.

Wallace is a member of the 23XI Racing team, which is co-owned by former NBA superstar Michael Jordan.

On Monday, Wallace made sure to pose with his white dog Asher for victory photos at the press conference.

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"Man, I'm just so proud of everyone at 23XI," Wallace said, according to NASCAR. "New team coming in and getting a win late in the season. I know a lot of history was made today, I believe, which is really cool, but it's about our guys, about our team, about what was done."

Wallace's win is the latest bout of good news for the athlete, who announced his engagement to fiancee Amanda Carter in July.

"Why I waited so long..we will never know," Wallace wrote on Twitter, sharing several sweet photos from the big moment, including one of himself down on one knee in front of a waterfall.

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The other images featured a close-up shot of the couple, with Carter showing off her ring, as well as a snap of Wallace pumping his fist in the air after she said yes.

"The wait is over!! Here's to forever! Forever ever!" he added.

Carter has long supported the driver, born Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr, as he rose to the NASCAR ranks since he was officially introduced as a team driver in October 2017, becoming the first Black driver to have a full-time Cup ride.

Over the past year, Wallace, the only Black driver in NASCAR's Cup Series, has gained national attention as an activist, successfully lobbying for NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag at tracks.

The athlete has also been open about the racism he's experienced.

"Whenever I was younger, I never would understand it, but my parents would always just be like, 'You know what, don't mind that BS that's going on over there. Let's come back next week and beat their tails,' " he told PEOPLE last July. "And that's what we did. We'd come back and eventually shut them up. So, it's been like that ever since."