New Trailer for Upcoming Bubba Wallace ESPN Documentary Shows Emotional and Defiant Driver With Special Message for His Haters: ‘Enjoy the Journey Because You’re Not Going to Stop Hearing About the Black Driver’
For months there’s been talk about the Bubba Wallace documentary coming out on Netflix in 2022, featuring the driver in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, his first year with 23XI Racing. ESPN has beaten the streaming service to the punch with a trailer release of its upcoming documentary on the lone Black Cup Series driver called “Fistful of Steel: The Rise of Bubba Wallace,” which will air on December 14.
The almost three-minute trailer summarizes the doc and highlights various aspects of the driver’s life on and off the track. It gets personal in detailing his family’s own experience when police killed his cousin. And it features interviews with some of the biggest names in the sport talking about him, including Richard Petty, Jimmie Johnson, and NASCAR President Steve Phelps. In the end, the documentary will get people talking about Wallace who, by his own admission, is now “the worst hated driver in sports.”
Bubba Wallace delivers bold statement to haters in new ESPN documentary trailer
The trailer for ESPN’s upcoming documentary on Bubba Wallace doesn’t waste any time letting fans know where the storyline is headed when it features a defiant 28-year-old driver telling his haters what to do within the first 30 seconds.
“I am the only one,” Wallace opens. “So embrace that I am Black, accept it, and enjoy the journey because you’re not going to stop hearing about the Black driver.”
While Wallace’s opening remark is a big statement, it’s just one of several throughout the trailer.
“He’s a symbol of change for our sport,” Jimmie Johnson suggests.
“I think Bubba can be a true crossover star for our sport and take this sport to places it hasn’t been before,” NASCAR President Steve Phelps offers up later in the preview.
Documentary delves into personal life and tragedy
The new documentary dives deep into Wallace’s personal life, including interviews with family members about a 2003 incident involving his 19-year-old cousin Sean being shot and killed by police. Wallace was nine at the time.
The Alabama native also details his personal experiences with law enforcement.
“Three guys, three white guys come out, and they had police written on their chest,” he says in the video. “Guns ready to roll. They could have got out and shot my ass up.”
Bubba Wallace talks about becoming most hated driver
The title and the trailer both make it clear that the documentary is about much more than Bubba Wallace and his racing career.
The grandson of the only other Black driver to win a race in NASCAR, Wendell Scott, sums it up best: “At the core, I feel like he wants the same thing my grandfather wanted. He just wants to drive, man. Can I just drive? And the answer to that is, ‘No, you can’t.'”
The trailer shows video from last year’s civil unrest and protests around the nation. It also shows the news when NASCAR banned the confederate flag at the suggestion of Wallace. An interesting quote from the driver then follows.
“Went from somewhat favorite driver to the worst hated driver in sports,” he bluntly admits.
Near the end of the trailer, Wallace summarizes how he views the whole situation.
“Treating everybody equal is not political,” he says matter-of-factly. “But when the black guy says it, it’s political.”
Bubba Wallace unfiltered sounds like must-see TV.
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