NASCAR star Bubba Wallace is no stranger to controversy.
It’s perhaps that penchant for drama that has turned the 29-year-old Wallace into something of a pro-wrestling villain in the world of NASCAR. Wherever he goes, he’s often greeted with a chorus of boos from fans of the sport.
That bubbling ugliness came to a head in North Carolina over the weekend when some of NASCAR’s biggest stars gathered at North Wilkesboro Speedway for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race on Sunday.
Before that main event, however, there was the Tyson 250, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday.
It was a solid, if ultimately disappointing, finish for Wallace, who held a lead at one point before stumbling all the way to fifth due to worn tires.
After the event, while taking questions, Wallace was booed by fans, which prompted a reporter to ask him how he felt about that.
To his credit, he largely brushed off the negative reaction as being just a part of sports, but he did take a parting shot at the jeering fans and their pocketbooks.
“Hey, as long as you continue to live your life, judging a book by its cover, that’s who you are,” Wallace told reporters. “Don’t change it up for anybody else. That’s the biggest thing. That’s fine. I mean I finished fifth.
“I got a good payday. I’m good.”
The boos for @BubbaWallace after today’s truck race & during driver intros were very loud at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
A @wsoctv reporter asked a great question about how/if that affects Bubba.
Wallace gave a great answer in return. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/0VDHtUZ7c0
— Noah Lewis (@Noah_Lewis1) May 20, 2023
Wallace appeared to carry some of that resentment over to Sunday.
After finishing a sterling second place in the All-Star Race, he appeared to slip a little middle finger for all of NASCAR fandom to see:
WARNING: The following video and tweets contain imagery some viewers might find offensive.
Real professional there @BubbaWallace @23XIRacing flipping the bird at the start of his post race interview. No class man. #NASCAR @NASCAR @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/bg7fiIrHol
— Charlie Waffles (@CWaffles) May 22, 2023
Social media quickly caught onto the brief, but seemingly deliberate, gesture from Wallace:
@BubbaWallace dudes a loser pic.twitter.com/qrATF4yIBc
— d (@robertsonderek4) May 22, 2023
Honestly just a sore loser, as always @BubbaWallace pic.twitter.com/YJqk4Ag2C8
— i am kirks complete lack of playoff success (@thelimoseats8) May 22, 2023
I wonder who Bubba Wallace was giving the finger to after the race? pic.twitter.com/5xrPL2876z
— David Posey (@DavidPosey1414) May 22, 2023
While it’s not clear who, exactly, Wallace was flipping off, it’s not a good look for an already polarizing driver.
Wallace, the only black driver in the Cup Series, made headlines in June 2020 when he claimed to have found a noose hanging in his garage. A thorough FBI investigation found the “noose” to be a garage door pull rope that had been in place since the year prior.
That incident thrust Wallace into the spotlight in ways that he did not appear ready for.
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An incident in July 2020 saw him making a bigoted swipe at another driver’s Christian beliefs.
“People say one of the nicest guys in the garage,” Wallace said of Michael McDowell. “Can’t wait for the God-fearing text that he’s going to send me about preaching and praise and respect.
“What a joke he is.”
“What a joke he is.” @BubbaWallace on @Mc_Driver. pic.twitter.com/3l2RIloWqH
— NASCAR Alerts (@NASCAR_Alerts) July 15, 2020
In October 2022, Wallace was handed a one-week suspension for violating NASCAR’s code of conduct.
His return from that suspension was to a chorus of boos.
