Bubba Wallace hasn’t won a NASCAR Cup Series race yet. He’s been close a few times, but that’s something that’s evaded him thus far. But, the way that he feels entering this weekend’s doubleheader at the Pocono Raceway, well he feels like he’s coming off of a victory tour.

See, not many people realize how grueling of a week it is for drivers that have won the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500. The media tours and photo ops keep have them rising well before the sun comes out and finally sleeping into the week hours of the morning. They visit so many cities and talk to so many people, it’s not uncommon to be left wondering what city or state they are in each morning.

For Wallace, he’s starting to feel that way. The Richard Petty Motorsports driver has been the main topic of conversation in the NASCAR world for the last few weeks. With so much racial injustice going around the United States right now, everyone wants a piece or an interview with NASCAR’s only African American driver.

Then, you factor in the noose incident from this past weekend at the Talladega Superspeedway and you get a driver in Wallace that’s “wore the hell out” from everything that he’s had to do outside of the race car over the course of the last month.

That’s why he’s looking forward to just getting to the Pocono Raceway on Saturday to get back to a somewhat normal schedule.

“You just have to be mentally strong,” Wallace said on Friday. “Where I’ve gotten my strength from, I couldn’t tell you. My emotions these days are one, being wore the hell out, two is being a little frustrated, and three is just finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but I’m probably a fool for thinking that because it’s 2020 and something else will probably happen tomorrow and we’ll be right back where we are.”

Wallace, is a damn good race car driver and just needing a chance to show it on track. Unfortunately, he’s always had to scrape for money to keep going. He’s got a full time ride at RPM for 2020, but it’s not a secret that they’re equipment pales in comparison to the big teams.

So, for him being the lone driver of color in the sport, being a strong advocate against the Confederate Flag and racial unjust to go along with having a goose egg in the win column, critics are have been flooding his social media with negative comments too.

“Athletes are put on a pedestal, there’s not a manual or guidebook to tell you how to handle yourself off the court, racetrack or field,” Wallace said. “It’s all something you learn and you go through the trials and tribulations to grow from those incidents and I think that’s what makes you tougher throughout.

“The people that are sitting on the couch, have never done anything with their lives to be able to amount to something and they’re jealous of your lifestyle and they just are trying to spew hate. That’s unfortunate, but you just have to worry about your life and not worry about other people’s lives. You shouldn’t let them dictate how you live your life to the fullest.”

Wallace, always just wanted to be accepted for a damn good race car driver and not have a claim to fame just because of the color of his skin. That’s not a slight or a dig in anyway to his heritage or how he feels as a black driver, he just wants to have a successful career at a job that has always been his dream.

If we’re going to make a change in this world, it’s for equality. We shouldn’t judge someone based off the color of their skin. Everyone regardless of their skin color or heritage should have the same opportunity as the next. Then, what you do with that opportunity, you just hope to be successful.

Wallace, has an opportunity but it’s almost like all of these off track interviews, which are for good cause by the way, are keeping him from having full focus on his job of driving a car.

With not one, but two races this weekend, does Wallace have the stamina? He’s young and talented and saying the right things, so lets hope for his sake he can thrive and use mind over matter.

Wallace, said that what was shown to him on Monday by his peers will be something that he takes with him forever. He’s most proud of Jimmie Johnson for the constant support but was even happier to see drivers that he hasn’t exactly seen eye-to-eye with in the past come out and support him too.

“Aric Almirola sent me a nice text right before (the race) Monday that we’re not friends and we don’t act like we are, but we’re going to stand next to each other, that he’d be proud to stand next to me as a brother and being human beings,” Wallace said. “I thought that was pretty special because we don’t click at all very well, we both will tell you that.

“And Alex Bowman coming up saying we don’t see eye to eye on everything but that he stands behind me 100 percent, something along those lines. I thought that was pretty cool. I’ve always had respect for Alex. We’ve butted heads and lost respect at times for each other but it shows we can all get together.”

Almirola, following a third place finish in Talladega, said he was proud to be on pit road supporting Wallace like he was.

“It was a lot of emotion, I think we were all just proud to be together,” Almirola said. “I think as competitors we all want to beat each other, but as human beings we all want to show love and support for each other.

“I think that’s one thing about our NASCAR community that has always stood out, is that regardless of what happens on the racetrack, off the racetrack we’re a family. We all support each other. You see it when we put fundraisers on or foundation events. We all show up.  We all support each other because we’re a family.

“We live next door to each other 38 weeks a year in the motorhome lot. When you see a brother that’s being singled out, that’s being hurt, you want to show love and you want to show support.”

Bowman, said on Friday that he acknowledges their relationship isn’t great but he appreciates Wallace as a human too though.

“There’s no secret we’re not best friends, right? We’ve had our fair share of run-ins and you know that on-track stuff is just going to happen, right? Tempers are going to flare, and if you run into the same guy a couple weeks in a row here and there, it’s not going to go great for your relationship.

“But that’s as a race car driver and that’s on the racetrack. As a human being, I have a big appreciation for him, trying to push us all to be better and speaking up and helping us do the same.

“So I think it really comes down to on the racetrack, we’re probably not going to be friends. But as a person, I appreciate what he’s doing and just wanted to show my support for him in that sense.”