Bubba Wallace dapat mulai percaya pada dirinya sendiri setelah kemenangan Brickyard

Bob Pockrass
FOX Motorsports Insider
Did Bubba Wallace silence the doubters with his victory Sunday at the Brickyard 400?
No. They will never be silenced, but only one of those doubters matters.
And that’s Wallace himself.
Bubba Wallace celebrates at the yard of bricks after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400
A driver who has made no secret about his difficulty handling the pressures of NASCAR Cup Series racing, Wallace admitted he had those doubts near the end of the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — a race that is considered by many as one of the sport’s crown jewel events.
“I’ll say those last 20 laps, there was ups and downs of telling myself, ‘You’re not going to be able to do it,’” Wallace said. “I hate that I’m that way.”
Wallace rode a 100-race winless streak into Indianapolis, and the win was the third of his Cup career. It was his first in a regular-season race and it vaulted him into the playoffs. He signed a contract extension late last season and knows that the expectations are for him to win since he’s driving for Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan.
Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing, kiss the yard of bricks after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400
“Not being able to do it for almost three years, you really start to doubt yourself and wonder like, ‘Is this it? After the contract’s up, is this it?’” Wallace said.
“I’ve still got a couple years left, but hopefully this gives me another year at least.”
The 31-year-old Wallace, whose son was born 10 months ago, has seemed to have a more balanced mindset this year. That’s a mindset that doesn’t let the frustrations of a bad performance (or a performance that didn’t match the capability of the car) eat at him throughout the week.
But make no mistake, having not won in nearly three years had to gnaw at Wallace.
His teammate, Tyler Reddick, won the regular-season title and was one of the four championship finalists last year. Wallace failed to make the playoffs.
An exhausted Bubba Wallace celebrates with his son Becks after winning the Brickyard 400
Any driver who is on a 100-race winless streak will certainly face criticism about whether they still deserve a job. Wallace, as the only Black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, gets scrutinized more about whether being Black helps him keep a ride. For context, as a woman, Danica Patrick faced similar criticism when she raced in NASCAR.
“Does anybody know where the goal post got moved to now?” Wallace said after the race. “Did it get moved yet? [My win] itu dicurangi? “
Wallace telah berkompetisi di Piala selama delapan musim. Di sebagian besar olahraga pro, bersaing di level atas untuk waktu yang lama akan dianggap sebagai karier yang solid. Tetapi di NASCAR, pengemudi dinilai oleh kemenangan dan kejuaraan dan siapa pun yang tidak dapat tetap bersaing setiap minggu diberi label sebagai bakat yang biasa -biasa saja.
Lap terakhir: Bubba Wallace memenangkan Brickyard 400 di Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Wallace tidak pernah mengguncang kemenangan yang akan membuat seseorang memandangnya sebagai penantang kejuaraan. Tapi tidak setiap pengemudi akan menjadi satu.
Dengan tiga kemenangan cangkir, Wallace memiliki sebanyak (atau lebih) kemenangan cangkir dari 19 dari 35 pengemudi penuh waktu lainnya. Berdasarkan stat itu, ia memiliki karir yang lebih baik daripada setengah dari para pesaingnya.
Kemenangannya Minggu lalu menunjukkan bahwa ia termasuk dalam seri Piala. Dia bisa mulai mempercayainya sekarang.
Bob Pockrass mencakup NASCAR dan IndyCar untuk Fox Sports. Dia telah menghabiskan beberapa dekade meliputi olahraga motor, termasuk lebih dari 30 Daytona 500-an, dengan tugas di ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene Magazine dan Jurnal Berita (Daytona Beach). Ikuti dia di Twitter @Bobpockrass.
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