Everything Bubba Wallace does seems to make major news, but one particular thing really seems to grind the gears of fans.
This year, the 23XI Racing driver has taken heat for throwing the bird at NASCAR races. He reportedly did it during an interview and he did it during another race as well.
Speaking about his middle finger incident with Claire B. Lang of SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Wallace claimed he would change his behavior while calling out the double standards of NASCAR fans.
“People think that I love to stay in the headlines for different reasons and I actually hate it. … The finger’s become such a big thing when Bubba Wallace does it. But you have guys that get wrecked and they walk on the track and shoot one bird or shoot the double-bird and we laugh about it and move on. We tell them that they’re No. 1. But when Bubba Wallace does it we gotta shut the whole state down, shut the whole series down, kick him out, suspend him.
… So, on that side of things, it’s complete BS. But, it is what it is. It’s been going on for years and it sounds like I just invented something new. And we know how some of these people that are part of this sport hate when Bubba Wallace brings in something new.”
Last month, Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked about the treatment Wallace receives at racetracks. Earnhardt talked about what he saw at Darlington Raceway the week before the All-Star event at North Wilkesboro.
“I was at Darlington a couple weeks ago. We’re on this stage, and it’s the 75 greatest drivers all lined up. Outside of me, these are the greatest drivers that have been involved in the sport. All distinguished, of varying ages, everybody’s there to have this great experience. And the drivers are being introduced and walking by us, shaking our hand one after the other. And it’s this moment where everybody, you would think that it would be a moment where you’d behave,” he explained on “The Dale Jr. Download.”
“And there’s this one guy at the rail, the rail of the fans that are down on the front straightaway, there’s one guy at the rail. Everybody for the most part is just cheering. There’s a couple, you know they give a couple people a hard time, Denny (Hamlin) and all that. A smattering of boos. Nothing crazy.
“But Bubba gets introduced and walks across the stage and there’s this guy right in front of me and Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth and everyone else there, screaming at the top of his lungs, ‘Go home! Go home! Go home!’ over and over, as loud as he could.
“And it was so obnoxious. I really wanted to jump down there and go, ‘Hey, could you stop? Is this really what you want to do right in this moment? Is this how you want to behave right now in front of all these incredible people that you’re standing in front of? Richard Petty and all these legends, you’re going to be acting this way?’
“And I thought man, that’s one day in Bubba’s life. And I was thinking, I know there’s people out there who have hated Kyle Busch and hated other drivers, and they probably have said some nasty things. But it just made me really disappointed.”
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Despite the controversy, Wallace is having a good season with 23XI Racing.
Over the weekend, Wallace finished 17th at Sonoma Raceway.
He has been making a surge toward the playoffs in recent months. He has three top fives this season and four top 10s.
Last season, he was penalized for a race when it was ruled that he intentionally crashed Kyle Larson in Las Vegas. Similarly, Chase Elliott was disqualified from last week’s race after it was discovered that he intentionally damaged Denny Hamlin.
