NASCAR driver races in 'Back the Blue' car days after Bubba Wallace sports Black Lives Matter design

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Tuesday, June 16, 2020
NASCAR driver races in Back The Blue car
NASCAR driver races in Back The Blue car

MIAMI -- Days after a NASCAR driver raced in a car with a Black Lives Matter paint job, another driver responded with a Back The Blue theme.

NASCAR's only full-time black driver, Bubba Wallace, finished 11th Wednesday at Martinsville Speedway while racing in a car designed to honor protesters across the country and lend support to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Days later, Kyle Weatherman raced in a car designed to support police officers and first responders. The rear bumper of Weatherman's No. 74 Chevrolet Camaro featured the hashtag "#BACKTHEBLUE."

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Weatherman does not typically compete against Wallace, as Wallace races in the sport's top tier (NASCAR Cup Series) and Weatherman races in the sport's minor league circuit (NASCAR Xfinity Series).

Weatherman drove the Back The Blue car Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His transmission broke, and he did not finish the race.

Mike Harmon Racing is the team behind Weatherman and the Back The Blue car. Mike Harmon said the team has received hundreds of emails from families of officers killed in the line of duty thanking them for the recognition.

Weatherman took to Twitter shortly after posting that he would be driving the Back The Blue car to clarify that he also supported black men and women.