Bubba Wallace is likely the most “woke” driver in all of racing. He also is one of the few black drivers in racing. Neither of these things would particularly stand out if Bubba would just race. Instead, Wallace is a lightning rod for controversy, often allowing his hot temper to get the best of him.
NASCAR star Bubba Wallace suggests double standard in reaction to his antics after middle-finger drama https://t.co/xYf7W2G33S
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 13, 2023
Bubba was on camera giving a post race interview a couple weeks ago, and shot the not-so-family-friendly middle finger salute. Fans immediately took to social media to roast Wallace and his bird, and now poor Bubba is whining once again.
Wallace finished a mediocre 17th at Sonoma Raceway in California on Sunday, and in an interview before the race, Bubba sounded like he was anything but focused on the task at hand. The results showed.
Bubba claims he is treated differently from other drivers. I think the “why” was implied. He said: “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. But when Bubba Wallace does it we gotta shut the whole state down, shut the whole series down, kick him out, suspend him.”
It is hard to feel sorry for Bubba Wallace. After all, this is the man that cried racism when a garage pull rope was mistaken for a noose, and then when it was debunked and determined that it was indeed a pull rope, Wallace maintained the racism narrative. Despite Wallace not personally seeing the rope or even being in the same city as the rope, Wallace seized the moment to build his brand.
This came a mere few weeks after Bubba also ruffled feathers by whining about the Confederate battle flag being used by some racers at certain tracks.
Wallace continued: “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.”
Perhaps some folks in the sport hate when someone refers to themselves in third person like Wallace is fond of doing. Truth is, Bubba has not endeared himself to fans, and hasn’t even tried. He has intentionally caused wrecks, flipped off fans (he claims it was at a friend,) and marched into the sport demanding things be changed just because Bubba Wallace is here.
NASCAR wasn’t broken, and Bubba Wallace doesn’t need to fix it. Instead of being the WWE-style bad guy, maybe just shut up, focus on racing, and win once in a while. Win gracefully, and lose with class, and NASCAR fans might stop ripping on Bubba Wallace.
Until then, we will continue with the cycle; Bubba does something he shouldn’t, fans and NASCAR get irate, and Bubba throws up his hands and wonders why it’s “Bubba Wallace against the world.”
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