Richard Petty greeted Darrell Wallace Jr. on pit road with a wide smile and a hug following a qualifying race for the Daytona 500 a couple weeks ago.
The King put an arm around Wallace and walked him to the media center following a third-place finish.
The 80-year old Petty appeared as giddy as ever. He was even missing a piece of his signature look: sunglasses. Maybe Petty just wanted a clear view of his new driver, the man they call "Bubba." He obviously sees something nobody else does.
A few days later, Petty saw Bubba drive the No. 43 car to a runner-up finish in his first Daytona 500. It might as well have been a win.
Wallace didn't even have a Cup Series ride until Aric Almirola was injured in a wreck last May at Kansas Speedway. Unfortunate for Almirola, fortunate for Wallace.
Wallace and Roush Fenway Racing split in the Xfinity Series and Wallace filled in for four races in the No. 43 car. It was the break he needed.
While Wallace didn't finish any better than 16th in those races, Petty decided to make him the full-time driver.
Maybe Petty saw potential. Maybe he just likes the guy. Or maybe he knows potential sponsors will like him.
The 24-year-old rookie has raced in one of the top three NASCAR series since he was 18, but never really made the splash other young, up-and-coming drivers made.
Wallace had a longer wait than most to reach the Cup level. And when the emotions came out during his press conference at Daytona, we got a glimpse of what it meant for him to reach that point in his career.
When Almirola returned, Wallace was without a ride for the final six months of the season. After years of working his way up, the journey suddenly stopped.
But by late October, Wallace knew he'd be back racing come February thanks to Petty.
Despite not having a solid foundation of sponsors, Petty still went with Wallace.
The No. 43 hasn't looked the same in the first three weeks of the season. Each week, the team has introduced a new sponsor with an updated paint scheme.
Eventually something is going to stick, because he's had enough success in the sport to prove he can do it.
Wallace now has the stage to showcase his upbeat and goofy personality. He's the character NASCAR has been looking for.
He's already had an eight-part series on Facebook Watch showing his week-to-week leadup to the Daytona 500.
Wallace constantly gives fans a look at who he is away from the track on social media, whether it's joking around with his girlfriend, beating on his drums or rocking out with his friend and fellow young-gun driver Ryan Blaney.
It's all led to a growing fanbase that'll only keep swelling if he keeps getting results like he did at Daytona.
Petty might want to keep the sunglasses on, because there might be plenty of bright moments to come with Bubba around.