Jeff Gordon: “I would rather the focus be just on his abilities and what he does.”
Jeff Gordon was leaving the airport and bumped into TMZ Sports. They had some good questions for the 4-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.
Watch the video below.
Is Bubba Wallace important for NASCAR?
“Yeah, I mean he’s an awesome race car driver,” Jeff Gordon states to TMZ while leaving the airport. “He’s a great guy. I think he’s going to do a great job behind the wheel. As he’s already proven.”
Is the race component important for NASCAR?
“I would rather the focus be just on his abilities and what he does. I’m sure he would probably rather that be the case too.”
He does represent something important.
-Jeff Gordon
“But, he does represent something important. Not just in sports, in NASCAR as well. I think that’s more of a positive than anything else.”
46 years since an African-American driver has run full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. Though, technically, no African-American driver has ever run a full season.
Wendell Scott ran in the NASCAR Cup Series for 13 years. However, the most races he ran in his career was in 1968. Scott ran 48 of 49 races that season.
“You have to understand, how kids start in racing and where that all begins,” Jeff Gordon explains to reason for the lack of diversification in NASCAR. “Kids start at a young age. There’s just not a lot of African-American kids getting introduced to racing at a young age.”
“My hats off to Bubba. I think he brings a lot to the sport,” Jeff Gordon concludes.
Jeff Gordon talks Bubba Wallace
Related: Bubba Wallace almost drove the #44
Links
Jeff Gordon | Darrell Wallace Jr | Richard Petty Motorsports | NASCAR
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