NASCAR industry makes multiple lists in Google trends data
2020 is the year of the Coronavirus, stimulus checks, protests, election drama and murder hornets. But, in-between all that NASCAR grabbed some of the top stories.
View the NASCAR Google trends below.
Every year, Google releases year-end trends. These are lists of the most searched items, activities, people, actors, athletes, lyrics, games, movies and much more.
Ryan Newman makes Google trends list for 2020
In February, Ryan Newman was on path to winning his first career Daytona 500. He was leading off the final corner.
Newman threw a block on Ryan Blaney that went awry. The then 42-year-old driver was sent into the outside wall at around 150+ mph. Upon impact, his car rolled and was struck in the window by Corey LaJoie.
In the moments after the crash, NASCAR officials put up a tarp to block fans at the track from viewing the accident scene. Newman was extracted from the car and airlifted to a nearby hospital.
Days later, Newman walked out of the hospital, without his shoes. “Miracle,” Newman said after the crash.
Related: NASCAR driver Ryan Newman flips across Daytona 500 finish line; Transported to hospital (Video)
Bubba Wallace makes Google trends list
NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace also broke into the Google search trends of 2020. A series of events kept Wallace in the headlines for several weeks.
In May, Bubba Wallace began to speak out on police abuse on African Americans. He shared stories of his own and showed support for the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Related: NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace shares stories of police encounters
In early June, Wallace called on NASCAR to ban Confederate flags from tracks across the country. Two days later, NASCAR announced they would officially ban Confederate flags from all tracks and properties that NASCAR attends.
The Confederate flag is deeply embedded in the heritage of the sport stemming from it’s Southern roots. The call to ban the flag was negatively received by many fans who see it as representation of their own Southern roots.
Days after the announcement, Wallace ran at Martinsville Speedway without a sponsor. The team elected to run a ‘Black Lives Matter’ paint scheme.
Related: Bubba Wallace comments on kneeling and the Confederate flag at NASCAR races
Bubba Wallace: Noose
On June 21, NASCAR was in Talladega, Alabama for a race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. The night before the race, a member of Richard Petty Motorsports informed NASCAR of a noose in their garage stall.
NASCAR opened their own investigation and called on the FBI as well. NASCAR president Steve Phelps stated there would be a ‘lifetime ban’ for the person that hung the noose.
On race day, every driver on the grid lined up behind Bubba Wallace’s car and pushed it to the front of the grid. It was to show a moment of solidarity.
A day after the race, the FBI investigation came to a close. A Team Penske crew member later spoke out stating he recalled a similar rope in the garage stall during the previous year.
Photos from the last NASCAR race at the track in 2019 showed the same garage stall with the same noose installed on the garage pull rope. The noose was not a targeted hate crime as it had been there for Paul Menard the previous year, possibly years prior.
Related: FBI concludes noose investigation from Talladega NASCAR race
Two weeks after the investigation, President Donald Trump called the incident involved Wallace a “hoax”. He then took a shot at NASCAR stating their choice to ban the Confederate flag caused the “lowest ratings ever”.
In September, Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin announced that Bubba Wallace would be the driver of their newly founded NASCAR Cup Series team 23XI Racing.
Related: Michael Jordan entering NASCAR spawned from a joke
Google 2020: People
This list includes all searches involving people:
1. Joe Biden
2. Kim Jong Un
3. Kamala Harris
4. Jacob Blake
5. Ryan Newman
6. Tom Hanks
7. Shakira
8. Tom Brady
9. Kanye West
10. Venessa Bryant
Google 2020: Athletes
This list shows only the most search athletes of 2020:
1. Ryan Newman
2. Tom Brady
3. Bubba Wallace
4. Mike Tyson
5. Rudy Gobert
6. Drew Brees
7. Tyson Fury
8. Derrick Henry
9. Nate Robinson
10. Delonte West
Links
Ryan Newman | Bubba Wallace | NASCAR | Google Trends
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