Mark Edwards: For better or worse, Talladega has witnessed Bubba Wallace's biggest career points

Sep. 28—TALLADEGA — No matter how long Bubba Wallace races, he likely will never have a connection to a NASCAR track like he does with Talladega Superspeedway.

It's the one place where he can speak both glowingly and with despair about his experiences.

He got his first Cup Series victory at Talladega when he won at the speedway last fall, and he said he'll always remember the track for that.

"It's awesome to go back to Talladega," he said in a video call with in-state reporters Wednesday. "Had a lot of success there, obviously. Coming back as the defending race winner there for the fall race. Just a lot of good vibes going into it. Hopefully, Mother Nature clears up. I think we're OK for Sunday. Hopefully, it's a good crowd there, and we can take home the trophy."

But Wallace also became a nationally recognized figure because of circumstances that had nothing to do with driving his car.

In 2020 as the Cup Series headed to Talladega in June, he said on a CNN show that he supported a ban on the Confederate flag at NASCAR races, drawing the ire of a segment of racing fans, including Talladega fans in the Heart of Dixie.

Then on race weekend, a worker discovered that a pulldown cord in his garage stall had been fashioned into a noose. An FBI investigation revealed that the noose had been in place for at least eight months, and considering the garage stalls aren't assigned until the week of the race and is done so based on the most recent standings, it was an unfortunate coincidence that Wallace drew that particular stall.

NASCAR and drivers rallied around him, as they even pushed him to the front of the starting lineup for that week's Cup race at Talladega. That and Wallace's even-keeled response to the episode drew plenty of fans nationally, but he got bashed by others who believed the explanation was untrue and too convenient, despite what the FBI investigation showed.

"I think 2020 was the year that we all wish we could forget," Wallace said. "The pandemic and all the stuff in the media we were part of directly and indirectly. So, my name was put out in the forefront on a national level. That's kind of when my stock went up."

Then he gave a half-smile and added, "Some people might say down."

Wallace said he and NASCAR have tried to advance beyond the 2020 noose incident and move the sport forward.

"It's been cool to see how we've changed and evolved as a sport from 2020 to what we're doing now, coming up with new ways to bring diversity to the track," he said.

In fact, in that regard, Wallace will host a community block party at Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham on Friday. According to a news release, "Bubba's Block Party" is a "community-focused NASCAR initiative that aims to drive awareness, access and engagement to the sport among the Black community while generating excitement around the race weekend."

The event is presented as family-friendly and will take place from 5-10 p.m.

"We're excited to bring Bubba's Block Party, a community event, to the heart of Birmingham," said Brandon Thompson, NASCAR vice president of diversity and inclusion. "Events like this allow us to bridge the rich history and culture of Birmingham to a NASCAR staple like Talladega."

The event is free and will have live music, games and activities.

Wallace said he had the idea before the Cup Series race in Richmond and had a block party there. It went well enough to add a date in Alabama before this week's Talladega race.

"Since 2020, we've been revving up even more our diversity efforts and trying to make real, positive change in our sport," he said. "We hope people will say, 'This was fun, now let's check out a NASCAR race.' Then it snowballs from there."

Still, he is a race-car driver first, and from that regard, he says he's especially looking forward to Talladega. It is one of two superspeedway tracks, which seem to favor Wallace's style of racing. The other superspeedway track is at Daytona.

In addition to his fall 2021 win at Talladega, he has led at some point in six other Cup races at the track. He has finished second three times at Daytona.

"Talladega and Daytona are the places I feel the least amount of stress, to be honest with you," he said. "For me, the way I approach the races, my team has taken an understanding that 'hey, we don't really need to prep for these races on the strategy side or the mentality side' because I guess I'm stubborn and I'm stuck in my ways. The way we've been racing on the speedways for the last year and a half with this team has been really, really good. I'm a big believer that if you overthink it, then you overdo it and there's no need to."

He hasn't made the playoffs, but he has enjoyed both of his career victories and eight of his 11 top-five finishes since joining Michael Jordan's and Denny Hamlin's 23XI racing team before the 2021 season.

In addition to winning at Talladega, he won at Kansas earlier this season. The Kansas win went the full distance, while the Talladega race was cut short by rain.

"At Talladega, I wanted to go the full distance," he said. "I was ready to strap back in and go finish out that race, but Mother Nature had different plans. So, the way we won Kansas, we dominated the last third of that race. This was how we used to do it when I was growing up."

Senior Editor Mark Edwards: 256-235-3570. On Twitter: @MarkSportsStar.