Last updated on .From the section Motorsport

Bubba Wallace is Nascar's sole full-time black driver

Basketball legend Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin have formed a single-car Nascar Cup Series team, with Bubba Wallace as their driver.

Wallace is Nascar's sole black full-time driver while Jordan is the second black team owner at its elite level.

Earlier this year, Wallace successfully campaigned to get the Confederate flag banned from Nascar races.

Six-time NBA champion Jordan said the team would "educate a new audience".

The 57-year-old added it would also "open more opportunities for black people in racing".

"Historically, Nascar has struggled with diversity and there have been few black owners," Jordan said. "The timing seemed perfect as Nascar is evolving and embracing social change more and more."

In June, it was feared Wallace, 26, had been subject to a racial attack when a noose was found in his garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

An FBI investigation concluded it was actually a handle on a garage door and had been there since the previous year.

On joining Jordan and Hamlin's team, Wallace said: "This is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I believe is a great fit for me at this point in my career."

Hamlin, 39, will be a minority partner in the team while he continues to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing.

The team will start racing in 2021 with their name, car number, manufacturer and sponsors to be announced in due course.

Source: BBC News

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