NASCAR'S Bubba Wallace inspires Austin teens ahead of COTA race

AUSTIN, Texas - Ahead of Sunday's NASCAR race at Austin's Circuit of the Americas, a driver sat down with a group of Central Texas teens.

Bubba Wallace meets Central Texas teens

What they're saying:

If you had asked these teenagers 24 hours ago who their favorite NASCAR driver was, most of them would have told you they were just excited to see the track.

"This is my first time at the Circuit of the Americas. For someone that is really local to the Del Valley area, I thought it was pretty amazing to be here," said Everardo Tovar, a senior at KIPP Texas Public Schools.

Now, they can confidently say they're huge Bubba Wallace fans.

"He's definitely my number one now," said Tovar.

Wallace talked with teens from the Boys and Girls Club and KIPP Texas Public Schools, an open-enrollment, free public charter school network where 94 percent of its students are Black or Latino.

"I feel like this is a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing. Like, if I didn't come with the Boys and Girls Club, I don't think I ever would have attended an event like this," said Na’sih with the Boys and Girls Club.

Bubba Wallace speaks to a group of Central Texas teens.

And for good reasons too.

Wallace placed second in his qualifying race.

Afterward, he celebrated the success with the students.

"We were able to talk with some kids from KIPP and the Boys and Girls Club, and so, just to be able to share some insight on what it's like to be a race car driver, how to be a better human being as they grow up, I think that's really cool and really special for me," said Wallace

"His story was very compelling, and some spots of his story, I really like resonated, like with the ideas of him being like, he said he quit because he just felt distraught about losing and he had so much resiliency just to go back in and be like 'hey this something I really want to do,'" said Tovar.

Empowering and inspiring the next generation helps drive Wallace to the finish line.

"I think for the kids that are able to come and see fast cars and loud noises and see their favorite drivers, it's really cool because we have to remember we were a kid once, and we always looked up to somebody," said Wallace. "As we get older, we've got to remember that we were all a kid once, and really that's kind of for everything right?"

What's next:

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Circuit of the Americas for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix.

The race will be broadcast live on FOX 7 beginning at 2:30 p.m.