“Some people like him, but he is a lightning rod.” This was the perfect metaphor used for Bubba Wallace. Ever since he soared to the Cup Series ranks in 2018, Wallace has attracted haters. Be it belittling him for his mental health discussion or making him a villain against the hottest stars of the sport, many reasons have emerged to bring him down. “I’m gonna guess more fingers than teeth on that cat,” he famously said when one fan flipped him off on the track.
However, Wallace has a side that most in the NASCAR community do not know about.
Since the end of the 2024 season, there has been a marked shift in Bubba Wallace’s demeanor. This aptly fell in place with the birth of his son, Becks Hayden – and currently, Wallace faces every race result fearlessly. Yet according to a NASCAR veteran, this aspect was always there.
Well, the 23XI Racing driver has gotten on fans’ nerves several times. Mostly, people do not like him wearing his emotions on his sleeve. However, his racing actions have also landed criticism. During the 2022 Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bubba Wallace intentionally wrecked ‘golden boy’ Kyle Larson. That landed him a one-race suspension, a fine, and a truckload of hate messages. Then during the 2024 Chicago Street Race, he door-slammed Alex Bowman in retaliation for an earlier move, landing a $50,000 fine and more unpleasant mail. However, that instance did not stop him from checking his emotions in front of an eager fan.
NASCAR TV analyst Jamie McMurray got the opportunity to witness this soft side of Bubba Wallace. And he was more than eager to share it with the world. In a ‘Door, Bumper, Clear’ episode, McMurray recalled how the two met when Wallace was in the thick of the Chicago penalty. “I got to know him really well this summer ’cause he came around the Legend car at the summer shootout. It’s a thousand degrees out in the middle of the summer in Charlotte. I sat in a chair next to him and he’s like, ‘Man I’m hot.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s hot isn’t it?’ He’s like, ‘No! …I just got fined $50k.’ I was like, ‘Oh man, I’m sorry, I wasn’t sure what you’re talking about right there.’”
Bubba may have scared Freddie on Sunday, but in this story, he made Jamie proud. @FreddieKraft | @jamiemcmurray | @KarsynElledge3 | @TBR7NY pic.twitter.com/93W506GxHt
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) March 25, 2025
Given the flaring emotions that Bubba Wallace is known for – he pushed and shoved Kyle Larson in 2022 – Jamie McMurray was a bit worried. Yet he was heart-warmed when he saw Wallace’s controlled behavior. “At that moment, this little girl walked up with a Lego of his car, and her mom was there…I was like, this could go two ways, right, because he’s mad right now. And she never knew – he got up, took a picture with her. The parent told the story of like, ‘We’re out here each week, we’re a fan of yours.’ And Bubba was so nice to her. He sat back down, and I was like, ‘I’m really proud of you right now, ’cause I know mentally where your head was.’”
This incident left Jamie McMurray wishing to capture Bubba Wallace’s soft side for all his negative fanbase. “The timing of fans sometimes is the impression that you leave on them – and it can be a bad one. I wish that everyone knew the Bubba that we knew…He’s witty, he’s funny, and a really nice guy – but he wears his emotions on his shoulders.”
What is more, Bubba Wallace can look forward to a fruitful season. With a hardworking team by his side, the sky seems to be the limit.
Things are looking up for 23
Well, we have seen Bubba Wallace feeling depressed several times. Be it watching his close friend Ryan Blaney clinch the 2023 championship or narrowly missing the 2024 playoffs, heartbreaks were frequent for the Toyota speedster. Yet a lot of things are looking up this season. A major crew chief shuffle happened in the No. 23 team – Charles Denike replaced Bootie Barker. Then recently another personnel shift emerged – Rick Hendrick’s pit coach also moved over to the 23 team. Then of course, Wallace’s son Becks Hayden gives him a reason to smile despite low finishes on a race weekend. Geared with these advances, Wallace is off to a great start.
He clinched the Duel 1 win at Daytona and recently finished a remarkable 3rd-place finish in Homestead-Miami. Although Bubba Wallace has an 86-race winless streak, hard work may see him fly in no time. Charles Denike is confident in the team, which works together with Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 team. “I’m just proud that we’re in this conversation. The teams work so well together…It’s an amazing group of people. Just super enjoyable to be able to work together and know that as we debrief this week, we were the benchmark today, fair and square. Super proud of everybody that contributes to that. Next week, something might be different, but the culture is we’re all in it together.”
Evidently, Bubba Wallace is on a path to success in 2025. Once veterans like Jamie McMurray successfully transform people’s perspective about him, he might be a true star of NASCAR.
The post Bubba Wallace’s Hidden Nature Revealed by Warm-Hearted Veteran Caught Off-Guard by the “Hot” Driver appeared first on EssentiallySports.