Sometimes you gotta bring up NASCAR, even in October, even after most of America has forgotten they're still racin' somewhere every week, because, come on, FOOTBALL.
But something happened yesterday at Talladega, where they were racin' because Sunday they got rained out. Something, you know, kinda historic.
What happened was, Bubba Wallace won his first Cup race.
That was fairly significant, because it meant Wallace automatically advanced to the next round of the playoffs. (And don't ask me what round they're up to now, 'cause I've lost track like most of you out there). But it was also the first time an African-American driver had won a Cup race in 58 years -- and only the second time ever.
The first, and until yesterday only, time came on Dec. 1, 1963, when Wendell Scott won a Grand National race in Jacksonville, Fla. NASA had just finished shooting Mercury astronauts into space. Vietnam was still a faraway war LBJ hadn't lied us into yet .And JFK had been in the ground less than two weeks after his appointment with Lee Harvey Oswald -- or, you know, with the mob, the Cubans or some shadowy right-wing cabal.
That's a long time between hoists of the winner's trophy, boys and girls.
And, yeah, it happened because Bubba Wallace happened to be ahead when the rains came again and washed out the last 71 laps. But I don't recall anyone begrudging all the white drivers who've won over the years because rain shortened the proceedings, so here's a thumbed nose at the knuckle draggers who inevitably tried to downplay Wallace's win.
Go home, losers. Ain't got time for your crabbin' and "Yeah, but"-in'.
Instead, let's listen to Warrick Scott Sr., Wendell's grandson, who tweeted a photo of this granddad leaning against a car.
"PaPa was there the whole time chilling in the rain," it read.
Damn skippy.
No comments:
Post a Comment