Bubba Wallace's Parents Went above and beyond to Help Him Become a NASCAR Star

Bubba Wallace's parents have always been a significant part of his life. Since he started driving before he turned ten, he has risen through the ranks to become a professional stock car racing driver, and his parents helped him become a NASCAR star.

His father, Darrell Wallace Sr., and his mother, Desiree Wallace, always feature on his social media pages when he is not posting about cars or posing with his long-time girlfriend, Amanda Carter.

Even though Bubba Wallace's parents were no longer together, they could co-parent effectively. Today, he has made history by being the only African-American driver to win more than once in NASCAR's three national series.

Bubba's Father, Darrell Sr., Was His First Sponsor

Darrell Sr. is a businessman who owns Wallace Industrial Inc., an industrial cleaning company. Before owning his company in 1999, he worked in sales for PSC and Thompson Industrial Services, LLC, for 13 years.

He and his wife, fans of the late Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr., a professional stock car driver, split when their son was young. Despite their split, their children remained a priority.

When Bubba joined the racing world at nine, Darrell Sr. sponsored him. He had taken his son to watch a race and asked him if he was interested in being a driver.

His son showed interest in the races, so he bought him a go-kart. Bubba would practice in their driveway before he joined the major races with the Legends series, Go-Karts, and Bandolero.

By the time he was 15, the race car driver born on October 8, 1993, had become the youngest driver to win Virginia's Franklin County Speedway.

Two years later, he moved up to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and made history as the youngest driver to win the Greenville-Pickens Speedway.

Bubba soon earned the Rookie of the Year award, making him the first African-American to win the prize during the NASCAR series.

By 2012, he made his debut in the Xfinity Series and won his first Dover International Speedway. The following year, he became the first African-American to win one of NASCAR's national series since 1963.

In 2017, he made history again as the first African-American race car driver to hold a full-time Cup ride since 1971. He was scheduled to drive Richard Petty's legendary No 43 Chevrolet Camaro at the 2018 Daytona 500.

Bubba's Mom, Desiree, Was a Bit Leery When Her Son First Expressed Interest in Racing

While Darrell Sr. was busy with their son, Desiree, a social worker, was helping their daughter build her basketball career. She had to travel all over the United States, and her hard work paid off as their daughter secured a basketball scholarship.

She has also been fully involved in her son's life and has always advised him not to create negative press. Her son called her his biggest fan and always wanted her by the race tracks.

However, when he started his career, Desiree was scared and unsure she wanted her son to have that life. But his dedication to driving led her to change her mind.

For the first race she watched, Desiree was frightened after seeing another driver tumble out of his go-kart, but Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. won.

When the race was over, she asked Bubba if he was afraid to go fast, and he assured her he was not. At that moment, Desiree knew her son would make waves in racing. She said:

"He was just fearless out there and really aggressive."

Since then, she would always make out time to watch her son race, and he never hesitates to show her off on social media. On Mother's Day in 2015, he wrote on Instagram that she had been his rock since he was born.