NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace will receive a special honor for his efforts to raise awareness of social and racial injustices.

Wallace will be among several individuals honored the 2020 Stan Musial Awards, which recognize athletes who show extraordinary displays of sportsmanship and overall class and character, the awards' official website announced.

Wallace will receive the 2020 Stan Musial Award for Extraordinary Character:

"Recognizing class, dignity and strength, it’s one of the most important awards in sports. And this year, it goes to one of the most important sports figures of 2020 – an athlete who has had a profound impact on his sport and the national dialogue surrounding racial justice and unity. NASCAR driver Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. is the recipient of the 2020 Stan Musial Award for Extraordinary Character," the Musial Awards wrote of Wallace.

Wallace, NASCAR's only full-time Black driver, gained national attention for his outspoken support of the Black Lives Matter movement amid the death of George Floyd, taking a stand to promote tolerance, understanding and unity, which included his push for NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag at races.

Other 2020 Musial Awards honorees include Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, who will receive the Stan Musial Lifetime Achievement Award for Sportsmanship, as well as Kellyn Taylor, Aliphine Tuliamuk and Stephanie Bruce of Flagstaff, Arizona; Chris King and Max Gerschman of New York, New York; Sabrina O'Heron of Silex, Missouri; and Josh Speidel of Columbus, Indiana.

The Musial Awards, named for Baseball Hall of Famer and St. Louis Cardinals legend Stan Musial, are held annually in St. Louis, Missouri. This year's award ceremony has been canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, but honorees will be recognized and presented with their awards in a television broadcast airing nationally on CBS on Saturday, December 26.

Photo: Getty Images

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