Bubba Wallace Talks Appealing to Chase Elliott to Create Social Change in NASCAR

Having already played a role in NASCAR's decision to ban the Confederate flag, Bubba Wallace reached out to colleague Chase Elliott about how he could use his popularity to help further change throughout the sport.

Wallace recounted the conversation Wednesday on ESPN's First Take (2:29 mark). 

"I told him, 'Hey man, you have a voice, you have a platform,'" Wallace said. "And he was like, 'Yeah, but is it really gonna do anything?' ... I said, 'Chase, you have one person that's following you that looks up to you who will do everything you say, whatever it is. You say the sky is green, then they're gonna be like 'the sky is green, God almighty Chase said that.' You're also going to have that one follower that carries hate in their heart and that's gonna do everything they can to show that. ... But they also believe whatever you say. And if you go on there and share your opinion and share your thoughts and what you feel in your heart, then you've changed that one person's mindset."

Wallace has been NASCAR's most visible face in recent weeks as it has attempted to address social issues. His longtime friend and competitor, Elliott has been voted by the fans as the most popular driver in the Cup Series the last two years. The Georgia native has over 860,000 followers on Twitter and 362,000 on Instagram. 

On June 7, Wallace shared a video that included multiple NASCAR drivers condemning racism in support of the Black Lives Matter movement:

One day later, he told CNN's Don Lemon that NASCAR should formally ban the Confederate flag at all events, a step the organization took on June 10. Wallace drove in a Black Lives Matter-themed No. 43 car for the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Ahead of the GEICO 500, NASCAR announced it had discovered what it thought to be a noose in Wallace's garage at Talladega Superspeedway. Prior to the race Monday, some of Wallace's fellow drivers helped push him to the end of pit road in a show of support, and he delivered an emotional interview on the track after the race. The Alabama native recorded one of his best finishes of the season, coming in 14th after leading a lap.

In addition to an investigation by NASCAR, the FBI looked into the origins of the suspected noose. NASCAR announced Tuesday it was a garage pull rope that resembled a noose. The rope had been tied that way since at least last October, well before the garage was assigned to Wallace's crew.