Black Lives Matter
After the
death of
George Floyd in May 2020 at the hands of police officers in
Minneapolis, Wallace began to speak up about the issue of abuse of African Americans by the police, becoming the face of stock car racing's involvement in the
Black Lives Matter movement. On that following June 8, he called on NASCAR to mandate the banning of displays of the
Confederate flag, which it had tried unsuccessfully in 2015 to request of its fans.
[64][65] On June 10, such a ban was announced by the association.
[66] On June 21, Wallace reported having found a noose placed in his garage stall at
Talladega Superspeedway.
[67]
For the
2020 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at
Martinsville, Wallace ran a special paint scheme to honor Black Lives Matter. The car featured an illustration of black and white hands interlocking together on the hood of the car, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on the side, and the phrase "Compassion, Love, Understanding" on both the hood and the back bumper.
Richard Petty, owner of
Richard Petty Motorsports, contributed to the livery by adding a peace symbol on the rear quarterpanel of the car that features hands of all colors circling inside the peace symbol.
[68][69] The livery was made after Richard Petty Motorsports failed to secure a primary sponsorship for the race, with the team later suggested the idea to run an all-black car to honor the movement to Wallace.
[70] Wallace finished 11th after securing top-ten finishes in both stages, his career best at Martinsville in the Cup Series.
[71]