Bubba Wallace | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | William Darrell Wallace Jr. October 8, 1993 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||
Achievements | Highest finishing African-American in the Daytona 500 (2nd, 2018 and 2022) 2017 U.S. Short Track Nationals Super Late Model 100 Winner (inaugural race) First African-American to win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (Martinsville, 2014) | ||||||
Awards | 2010 K&N Pro Series East Rookie of the Year 2008 UARA-Stars Late Model Series Rookie of the Year | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
247 races run over 8 years | |||||||
Car no., team | No. 23 (23XI Racing) | ||||||
2024 position | 18th | ||||||
Best finish | 10th (2023) | ||||||
First race | 2017 Axalta presents the Pocono 400 (Pocono) | ||||||
Last race | 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race (Phoenix) | ||||||
First win | 2021 YellaWood 500 (Talladega) | ||||||
Last win | 2022 Hollywood Casino 400 (Kansas) | ||||||
| |||||||
NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
88 races run over 7 years | |||||||
2022 position | 105th | ||||||
Best finish | 7th (2015) | ||||||
First race | 2012 Pioneer Hi-Bred 250 (Iowa) | ||||||
Last race | 2022 Pennzoil 150 (Indianapolis G.P.) | ||||||
| |||||||
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career | |||||||
51 races run over 7 years | |||||||
2023 position | 94th | ||||||
Best finish | 3rd (2014) | ||||||
First race | 2013 NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Daytona) | ||||||
Last race | 2023 Tyson 250 (North Wilkesboro) | ||||||
First win | 2013 Kroger 200 (Martinsville) | ||||||
Last win | 2017 LTi Printing 200 (Michigan) | ||||||
| |||||||
ARCA Menards Series career | |||||||
1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
Best finish | 137th (2013) | ||||||
First race | 2013 Lucas Oil 200 (Daytona) | ||||||
| |||||||
ARCA Menards Series East career | |||||||
37 races run over 4 years | |||||||
Best finish | 2nd (2011) | ||||||
First race | 2010 Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 (Greenville-Pickens) | ||||||
Last race | 2018 Great Outdoors RV Superstore 100 (Watkins Glen) | ||||||
First win | 2010 Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 (Greenville-Pickens) | ||||||
Last win | 2012 Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 (Greenville-Pickens) | ||||||
| |||||||
Statistics current as of November 5, 2023. |
William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. [1] (born October 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing.
Wallace was previously a development driver in Toyota's driver development program where he drove part-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series and full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series. He then moved over to Ford and their driver development program and competed full-time for Roush Fenway Racing in the Xfinity Series. After competing in select Cup Series races for Richard Petty Motorsports in their famous No. 43 as an injury replacement for Aric Almirola, Wallace became a full-time driver for RPM in the same car when Almirola left the team, which was his first full-time ride in the Cup Series.
Wallace has been the only full-time African American driver in NASCAR's three national series (Cup, Xfinity, and Truck) each year he has competed in them.
Wallace started racing in the Bandolero and Legends car racing series, as well as local late model events, at the age of nine. [2] In 2005, he won 35 of the Bandolero Series' 48 races held that year; [2] in 2008 he became the youngest driver to win at Franklin County Speedway in Virginia. [3]
In 2010, Wallace began competing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, a regional and developmental series. Wallace drove for Rev Racing as part of NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program, [4] [5] and was signed as a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. [6] He won his very first race in the series, at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, becoming the youngest driver ever to win at the track, [4] he was also the youngest, which began as the Busch North Series in 1987. [7] He also won later in the year at Lee USA Speedway in New Hampshire, [8] on his way to finishing third in series points and winning the series' Rookie of the Year award. [6] He was the first African American to win the Rookie of the Year award in a NASCAR series. [9] Wallace's 2011 season would see him winning three times, at Richmond International Raceway, Columbus Motor Speedway, and Dover International Speedway, and he finished second in points to Max Gresham. [4]
Wallace moved to race directly for Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2012 season. [2] Racing the entire K&N East Series season along with four to six selected races in the Nationwide Series, [10] Wallace won the second East event of the year at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, his first win with JGR. [11]
In 2018, Wallace returned to K&N East at Watkins Glen driving the No. 27 Chevrolet for Jefferson Pitts Racing to provide him with extra road course seat time before the Cup Series race later that weekend. [12]
Wallace made his national series debut in the Xfinity Series in late May, driving the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota for JGR at Iowa Speedway; [13] he ran in the top ten for most of the event, finishing 9th. [14] After posting further top ten finishes in his next two starts in the series, Wallace won his first career Nationwide Series pole at Dover International Speedway in late September. [15]
In 2014, he returned to the Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 20, starting in May at Talladega Superspeedway where he would finish 34th after being involved in The Big One while running 13th. [16] He ran only one more Nationwide race that year, at Daytona in July with Coca-Cola's "Share a Coke" campaign sponsoring where he would finish a strong 7th.
Following the 2014 season, it was expected that Wallace would move up to the Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing in a full-time ride, with the owner Joe Gibbs claiming they would have "a big program" for the young driver. [17] After the team struggled to find sponsorship for more than 15 races, on December 8, 2014, Wallace announced he had been granted his request to leave JGR and seek other opportunities. [18] Later, it was reported he had signed a deal to compete in the Xfinity Series for Roush Fenway Racing for 2015 with Chad Norris as his crew chief. On December 18, 2014, RFR officially announced that they had signed Wallace to compete full-time in the No. 6 Ford Mustang in 2015, with sponsors and crew members to be announced at a later date. On January 28, 2015, at NASCAR Media Day, it was announced that Wallace would drive the No. 6 Ford EcoBoost Mustang. [19] Wallace started the season with a 12th-place finish at Daytona and earned 14 top-tens to finish 7th in the final point standings. He was beaten by Daniel Suárez for Rookie of the Year by a single top-ten finish.
Wallace finished 6th in the season opener at Daytona. [20] He got his first top 3 of the season at California Speedway, in which he claimed 3rd after a dramatic final lap saw long time leader Kyle Busch blow a tyre giving the lead to Daniel Suarez temporarily as he would then run out of fuel just after passing Busch which then gave Busch back the lead, who was ultimately overtaken by Austin Dillon who would go onto win and Wallace would overtake Suarez, matching his career best finish, at the time, of 3rd. [21] Wallace then earned his best career finish at Dover International Speedway finishing 2nd to the dominant Erik Jones but at the end of the season dropped to 11th overall in the points. [22] Wallace did make the inaugural Xfinity Series chase and made it to the round of 8 before being eliminated after the penultimate race at Phoenix.
After finishing 33rd in the season-opening race at Daytona, Wallace finished in sixth place five consecutive times. [23] However, at Bristol, Wallace struggled. After starting from last, Wallace was trapped a lap down throughout the race, eventually getting caught up in a late crash. Wallace would finish the race in 33rd. At Charlotte, Wallace would run upfront for a majority of the race, even leading for 3 laps, but a late-race pit stop relegated him behind the top ten. Wallace got loose and hit the wall with a few laps to go costing him a top ten and finishing 28th. However, despite being fourth in the Drivers' Championship standings, Roush Fenway announced that they would be suspending operations of Wallace's Xfinity Series team following the Pocono race weekend due to sponsorship issues. [24]
Wallace signed with Biagi-DenBeste Racing to drive the No. 98 Ford at Chicagoland Speedway where he would score a 10th-place finish. [25]
In February 2013, it was announced that Wallace would run a full season in the Camping World Truck Series in the No. 54 Toyota owned by Kyle Busch Motorsports. [26] At Rockingham Speedway in April Wallace, following accidental contact with Ron Hornaday Jr., was turned by Hornaday under a caution flag, his truck hitting the outside wall. Hornaday was penalized for the contact by being sent to the rear of the field; after the race, Hornaday was penalized 25 championship points and assessed a $25,000 fine, in addition to being placed on probation for the remainder of the season. [27] The situation was compared to an incident at the 2011 WinStar World Casino 350K where Kyle Busch deliberately wrecked Hornaday at Texas Motor Speedway. [28]
On October 26, 2013, Wallace became the first African-American driver to win in one of NASCAR's national series since 1963, winning the Camping World Truck Series Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway. [29] [30] The only previous win by an African-American driver was by Wendell Scott in the Grand National Division on December 1, 1963. [29] Wallace finished 8th in points in his rookie season. [18]
In 2014, Wallace returned to the Camping World Truck Series full-time in the No. 54. In June, Wallace won the Drivin' for Linemen 200 at Gateway Motorsports Park. Three weeks later, he battled Kyle Larson and Ron Hornaday Jr. for the win at Eldora Speedway. Wallace held off a hard charging Larson, who wrecked his car trying to catch him, and beat Hornaday by a 5.489-second margin to win the second annual Mudsummer Classic. [31] Wallace switched to the No. 34 for the Kroger 200 at Martinsville in tribute to Wendell Scott, [32] and led the most laps en route to his second straight victory in the race. Wallace won his final race with KBM, the season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway, beating Larson again to earn his first non-short track victory. [33] Wallace's four wins along with nine top fives and 14 top tens led to a third-place finish in points. [18]
Wallace returned to the Camping World Truck Series at Michigan in August, driving the No. 99 Truck for MDM Motorsports, and ended up winning the race, holding off Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch who rounded out the top three. [34] However, Wallace's truck was discovered to have had illegal vent holes, resulting in an L1-level penalty that suspended crew chief Shane Huffman for one race and penalized the No. 99 team ten points. [35]
In May, Wallace once again returned to the Truck Series, driving the No. 20 for Young's Motorsports at Kansas. [36] He finished 14th after running out of fuel from 5th with 4 laps to go. [37]
In March, Wallace returned to the Truck Series for the TruNorth Global 250 at Martinsville and Vankor 350 at Texas, driving the No. 22 for AM Racing. He filled in for the team's driver/owner, Austin Wayne Self, following his suspension. Wallace would finish 10th and 20th, respectively, in these two races. [38] Self would then be reinstated before the next race (at Dover) and he returned to his truck.
In March 2021, Wallace joined Spencer Davis Motorsports to drive their No. 11 in the Pinty's Dirt Truck Race on Bristol Motor Speedway's dirt layout. For this race, the truck was fielded in a partnership with Hattori Racing Enterprises. He finished 11th in the race. [39]
On June 5, 2017, Richard Petty Motorsports announced plans to have Wallace drive the team's No. 43 Ford in place of injured Aric Almirola, making Wallace the first African-American to race in the Cup Series since Bill Lester in 2006. [40] In qualifying for his Cup debut at the Pocono 400, he was able to advance to the second round and start 16th. [41] During the race, Wallace suffered from speeding penalties on pit road, including one while he was serving an earlier pass-through penalty; [42] at one point, he nearly missed his pit stall because he looked for his Xfinity pit sign instead of the No. 43. [43] He went on to finish 26th and one lap down. After congratulating Ryan Blaney in Victory Lane, Wallace passed out and required medical attention. He later stated, "This is the third time this is happened. I get so pissed off at myself that I just pass out." [42]
Wallace earned a finish of 11th at Kentucky after being involved in a last-lap wreck.
After Aric Almirola announced his departure from Richard Petty Motorsports, team owner Richard Petty announced in an interview that he and the team were working on hiring Wallace as the new driver of the No. 43 in 2018. [44] Wallace was officially introduced to the team as their new driver on October 25, 2017. [45] He is the first African-American driver to have a full-time Cup ride since Wendell Scott in 1971. [46]
Prior to the season-opening Daytona 500, Wallace received support from National Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton. [46] He drove the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro to finish second behind Austin Dillon, the highest finish by a full-time rookie driver in race history, after beating Denny Hamlin to the start/finish line by .002 seconds. [47] [46] Wallace, however, scored only two additional top-10 finishes at the spring Texas race and the fall Phoenix race. He finished 28th place in the final point standings.
In October 2018, Wallace was named in Ebony magazine's Power 100 list, joining the ranks of Stephen Curry, Antonio Brown, Venus Williams and former president and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama. [48]
Despite continuing to have mediocre finishes in the 2019 season, Wallace displayed his full potential with RPM at the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race by winning the second stage of the Monster Energy Open and finishing fifth in the All-Star Race. His other highlight of the early-to-mid summer was at Watkins Glen, when he spun Kyle Busch off the track on lap 61. [49]
At the Brickyard 400, Wallace had one of the best runs of his career by finishing third after running top 10 all day long. [50] He continued to show improvements to his finishes during the season, notably at Richmond, where he started 37th and finished 12th. [51]
At the Charlotte Roval, Wallace finished 24th after Alex Bowman spun him out on lap 42 after Wallace gave Bowman the middle finger gesture on several laps. Wallace retaliated after the race by splashing water on Bowman's face. [52] NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell said on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio that officials plan to have a conversation with Wallace about the altercation. [53] On October 5, 2019, Wallace apologized to Jeff Gordon, AMR NASCAR Safety medical director Dr. Angela Fiege, and Hendrick Motorsports executive Jeff Andrews for getting them splashed during the incident, but stated that he does not regret what he did to Bowman. [54]
On November 9, 2019, Wallace was fined $50,000 and docked 50 points for intentionally manipulating competition at Texas when he spun his car on the track after experiencing a tire failure. [55] He once again finished 28th in the final points standings.
For the 2020 season, Wallace was reunited with crew chief Jerry Baxter, who worked with him in the Truck Series. [56] In the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas, Wallace finished sixth for his best finish on a 1.5-mile track. [57] When the season was halted after four races due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was 18th in points. [58]
During the stoppage, he participated in the NASCAR-sanctioned eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, where he made headlines at the sim racing league's Bristol event for quitting early by choice after wrecking on the 11th lap. Wallace responded to fan criticism by mocking how easily they got offended over a video game. In response, his main sponsor Blue-Emu dropped its sponsorship of the virtual No. 43 car. Blue-Emu executive vice president Ben Blessing said that Wallace's outburst would have been unacceptable during a physical race. As Blessing saw it, Wallace's outburst was not the act of a NASCAR driver, but of "someone like my 13-year-old son who broke his controller playing some game where he builds houses." [59] Later in the Pro Invitational season, after initially posting a tweet seeking a spotter for the event at Talladega, [60] Wallace announced that he would "opt-out," stating that practicing for the iRacing events was too difficult: "I simply get burnt out after a day. Not the games fault, just been like that for years." [61]
Wallace scored a second top ten in the Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol after starting 36th. [62] Further top tens came in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis and FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan with ninth-place finishes in both. [63] [64] In the regular season-ending Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, he recorded a fifth-place finish despite being involved in a late-race wreck. [65] [66]
On September 10, 2020, Wallace announced he would leave RPM at the end of the 2020 season. [67] He finished 22nd in the points standings. [68]
On September 21, 2020, Michael Jordan announced he and NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin had created a NASCAR team, named 23XI Racing with Wallace serving as the first driver in the No. 23. [69] Wallace was replaced by Ty Dillon in the 2021 Busch Clash as Wallace was not eligible to compete in the race. [70] After qualifying fourth for the Daytona 500, he finished second in his Bluegreen Vacations Duel to Austin Dillon. [71] He was classified 17th in the Daytona 500 after being involved in a fiery last-lap wreck. [72] Wallace scored a second-place finish at the August Daytona Race. He originally placed third, but due to a post-race car inspection failure on the No. 17 car of Chris Buescher, his result was increased to second, equaling his best ever Cup Series result at the 2018 Daytona 500. [73] On October 4, 2021, Wallace earned his first career Cup win at Talladega after the race was shortened due to rain. Wallace is the first African-American driver to win a Cup Series race since Wendell Scott in 1963. [74] [75] Wallace also scored the first win for a McDonald's-sponsored car since Jimmy Spencer in 1994. [76]
Wallace continued with 23XI Racing alongside new teammate Kurt Busch. [77] He raced at the 2022 Daytona 500 with a full McDonald's sponsored paint scheme, finishing runner-up to Austin Cindric by 0.036 seconds. Wallace was in contention late in the race at Atlanta, but would finish 13th after being involved in a wreck on the last lap. [78] On March 29, 2022, crew chief Bootie Barker was suspended for four races due to a tire and wheel loss during the 2022 Texas Grand Prix at COTA. Dave Rogers was announced as Wallace's crew chief for Richmond, Martinsville, Bristol, and Talladega. [79] At Michigan, Wallace won his first career pole and finished second to Kevin Harvick. [80] Following the final regular season race at Daytona Wallace, in a must-win situation, failed to qualify for the Playoffs. [81] However, on August 31, 2022, it was announced that Bubba, along with crew chief Barker, would switch rides at 23XI for the remainder of the season, as they move over to the No. 45 car as it seeks the owner's championship. [82] On September 11, Wallace scored his second win at Kansas after leading the final 67 laps and holding off Hamlin. [83] At Las Vegas, Kyle Larson charged aggressively past Kevin Harvick and Wallace, causing Wallace to scrape the outside wall. Wallace retaliated with a right rear hook on Larson, wrecking both cars down the frontstretch and severely damaging Christopher Bell's car in the process. During the caution, Wallace engaged in a shoving match with Larson. [84] Wallace was suspended for one race for the incident; John Hunter Nemechek was assigned to drive the No. 45 at Homestead. [85] He ended the campaign 19th in the drivers' standings.
Wallace started the 2023 season with a 20th-place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500. He improved his finishes enough to make the playoffs for the first time in his career. [86] Although improving in overall points, achieving 5 top 5 finishes, and 10 top10 finishes, 2023 was the first winless season for Wallace since his first win at Talladega in 2021. [87] Wallace advanced to the Round of 12 following the Bristol night race after Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick were eliminated due to issues late in the race. [88] He was eliminated from the Round of 12 at the conclusion of the Charlotte Roval race. [89]
Bubba Wallace had an impressive start to 2024 achieving two fifth-place finishes in the first two races of the season. [90] [91] However, following a 35th-place finish at Las Vegas, [92] Wallace struggled to regain competitiveness for the next five races until a fourth-place finish at Martinsville [93] Since Martinsville, Wallace has finished three times in the top 10 at Texas, Darlington, and Nashville. At the Chicago Street Race on July 7, Wallace was involved in a spin after he got turned by Alex Bowman, who would later go on to win that very same race. After the race, Wallace intentionally collided with Bowman's car during the cool-down lap. Per NASCAR, Wallace, "driver of the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, was fined $50,000 for violating Sections 4.4.B & D: NASCAR Member Code of Conduct, and finished the race in 13th and currently sits 17th in the playoff standings, 45 points underneath the elimination line for the 16-driver field." [94] Despite scoring decent finishes during the regular season, Wallace failed to make the playoffs after Chase Briscoe won at Darlington. Following the Martinsville playoff race, the No. 23 was docked 50 owner and driver points and Wallace and the team were each fined US$100,000 for race manipulation, when Wallace faked a tire failure and slowed down to allow fellow Toyota driver Christopher Bell to pass him in an attempt to make the Championship 4. In addition, Barker was suspended for the Phoenix finale. [95] Despite a promising early season, Bubba Wallace finished the 2024 NASCAR season in 18th place overall with no wins, and six top-ten finishes while accumulating 878 points. This represents Bubba's second best overall finish in the NASCAR Cup Series. [96] On October 30, 23XI Racing announced that Bootie Barker, the 23 team's crew chief since 2021, would move to another position within the organization and that Charles Denike, who comes from the Truck Series, would be Wallace’s crew chief in 2025. [97]
On June 21, 2020, a member of Wallace's team reported to NASCAR that a noose had been placed in Wallace's garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway, which NASCAR president Steve Phelps relayed to Wallace in the evening. [98] The organization condemned the act as "heinous" and said they would consult with law enforcement. Wallace stated that he was "incredibly saddened" by the "painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism," but also praising his fellow drivers that are "driving real change and championing a community that is accepting and welcoming of everyone." [99] Before the GEICO 500 race the next day, the drivers and crews pushed Wallace's car to the front of pit road in a show of solidarity, a gesture that drivers Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick proposed. [100]
A day after the race, an investigation by the FBI concluded that Wallace was not the victim of a hate crime: the alleged noose was a pull-down rope with a loop, in the style of a hangman's knot, that was located on an overhead door, and had been in the garage since the fall Talladega race in 2019. [101] The FBI's determination led to people criticizing Wallace on social media as fake and questioning his integrity. [102] [103] Wallace stated in interviews that although he was relieved that he was not specifically targeted, he was frustrated by the backlash he received. [102] [103] He nonetheless vowed not to let the incident or the subsequent "hoax" allegations "break" him. [103] He added that regardless of "whether [it was] tied in 2019" or "wasn't directed at me... somebody tied a noose." [104]
On June 25, 2020, NASCAR released a photo of the noose taken by security. In a teleconference later that day, Phelps explained NASCAR had inspected every garage at the sanctioning body's 29 tracks, with 11 garages containing pull-down ropes tied in knots but only Wallace's being tied into a noose. [105] Although the individual responsible was not identified, Phelps announced that NASCAR would require sensitivity and unconscious bias training for its personnel and that "Bubba Wallace and the 43 team had nothing to do with this." [98]
Two weeks after the GEICO 500, on July 6, 2020, President Donald Trump tweeted that Wallace should apologize for the investigation, branding it a hoax while adding it and NASCAR's Confederate flag ban "has caused lowest ratings EVER!" Trump's ratings claim was refuted by Fox Sports executive vice president Michael Mulvihill, who said the ratings had increased by eight percent since the 2020 season resumed in May, while Wallace received support from figures like Johnson, driver Tyler Reddick, and basketball player LeBron James. [106]
Wallace founded and runs the Live to be Different Foundation. [107] He was also the National Motorsports Press Association's Pocono Spirit Award winner for the second quarter of 2020, [108] and the recipient of the Comcast Community Champion of the Year award for 2020. [109]
In May 2020, after the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Wallace began to speak out about the abuse of African Americans by the police, becoming the face of stock car racing's involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement. On June 8, 2020, he called on NASCAR to prohibit displays of the Confederate battle flag at NASCAR races. In 2015, after the publication of photographs showing the white man who killed nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, posing with the flag, the organization began asking fans not to display the flag at its races. However, many fans in the South continued to hoist the Confederate flag at races. [110] On June 10, 2020, NASCAR officially banned the display of the flag at its events. [111]
In the 2020 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 NASCAR race at Martinsville Speedway, Wallace's car had a special paint scheme to honor Black Lives Matter when no other sponsor could be found for that race. The car featured an illustration of black and white hands interlocking together on the hood of the car, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on the side, and the phrase "Compassion, Love, Understanding" on both the hood and the back bumper. Richard Petty, owner of Richard Petty Motorsports, contributed to the livery by adding a peace symbol on the rear quarter-panel of the car that features hands of all colors circling inside the peace symbol. [112] [113] The livery was made after Richard Petty Motorsports failed to secure a primary sponsorship for the race. The team later suggested the idea to Wallace to run an all-black car to honor the movement. [114] Wallace finished 11th after securing top-ten finishes in both stages, his career-best at Martinsville in the Cup Series. [115]
Wallace was born in Mobile, Alabama, and raised in Concord, North Carolina.
Born to a black mother and a white father, [116] Wallace is the son of Darrell Wallace Sr. and Desiree Wallace. [2] [117] His father is the owner of an industrial cleaning company, and his mother is a social worker who ran track at the University of Tennessee. [118]
Wallace is best friends with fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney. [119] The two first met when they raced Bandoleros in their youth. [120]
In 2019, Wallace revealed that he dealt with and continues to deal with depression for most of his racing career. [121] After others reached out to him to thank him for bringing awareness to depression, Wallace said he did not know it was such a widespread problem; for him, being depressed was an honest answer to a media question. [122]
On July 23, 2019, Wallace posted photos of Richard Petty autographing his left forearm. He vowed to have Petty's signature tattooed if the photos were retweeted 43,000 times. The goal was made by the morning of July 25. [123] Less than a month later, Wallace had Petty's signature tattooed on the back of his right thigh. [124]
Wallace married Amanda Carter on December 31, 2022. [125] The two became engaged on July 30, 2021. [126]
Wallace is a Christian. In an interview with Esquire in 2020, Wallace clarified that his criticism of Michael McDowell after an incident at that year's All-Star Race was not meant as an attack on McDowell's Christian faith as some had perceived. "A lot of people took that as attacking his faith and it definitely wasn't that. I have nothing against that. I'm a Christian myself. When you go disrespectful, then that shows the character that you are. That's what I was getting at." [127] Wallace's wrecked front bumper from the incident was put up for auction and raised $20,034 for the Christian non-profit organization Motor Racing Outreach. [128]
On September 29, 2024, while Bubba was racing in Kansas, his wife Amanda gave birth to a son, Becks Hayden. [129]
In 2017, Wallace voiced the character Bubba Wheelhouse in the 2017 Pixar film Cars 3 . [130]
Leading up to the 2018 Daytona 500, he starred in the Facebook Watch series Behind the Wall: Bubba Wallace . [131]
Wallace and 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin appear in the music video for Post Malone's 2021 song "Motley Crew". [132]
In 2021, Wallace participated virtually in the 2021 Pro Bowl after the event was cancelled and hosted on Madden NFL 21. [133]
In 2022, he was the subject of the Netflix docu-series Race: Bubba Wallace . The six-episode series follows Wallace's career during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, including his off-track life and activism. [134]
† As Wallace was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
NASCAR Cup Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | NCSC | Pts | Ref |
2017 | Richard Petty Motorsports | 43 | Ford | DAY | ATL | LVS | PHO | CAL | MAR | TEX | BRI | RCH | TAL | KAN | CLT | DOV | POC 26 | MCH 19 | SON | DAY 15 | KEN 11 | NHA | IND | POC | GLN | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | CHI | NHA | DOV | CLT | TAL | KAN | MAR | TEX | PHO | HOM | 50th | 01 | [135] |
2018 | Chevy | DAY 2 | ATL 32 | LVS 21 | PHO 28 | CAL 20 | MAR 34 | TEX 8 | BRI 16 | RCH 25 | TAL 16 | DOV 25 | KAN 23 | CLT 16 | POC 38 | MCH 19 | SON 29 | CHI 23 | DAY 14 | KEN 27 | NHA 24 | POC 33 | GLN 25 | MCH 23 | BRI 38 | DAR 26 | IND 38 | LVS 38 | RCH 27 | ROV 36 | DOV 23 | TAL 19 | KAN 26 | MAR 34 | TEX 25 | PHO 10 | HOM 21 | 28th | 471 | [136] | ||
2019 | DAY 38 | ATL 27 | LVS 26 | PHO 22 | CAL 30 | MAR 17 | TEX 23 | BRI 20 | RCH 27 | TAL 39 | DOV 27 | KAN 29 | CLT 25 | POC 21 | MCH 28 | SON 26 | CHI 25 | DAY 15 | KEN 23 | NHA 22 | POC 22 | GLN 28 | MCH 27 | BRI 14 | DAR 24 | IND 3 | LVS 23 | RCH 12 | ROV 24 | DOV 20 | TAL 24 | KAN 35 | MAR 13 | TEX 24 | PHO 25 | HOM 34 | 28th | 437 | [137] | |||
2020 | DAY 15 | LVS 6 | CAL 27 | PHO 19 | DAR 21 | DAR 16 | CLT 38 | CLT 37 | BRI 10 | ATL 21 | MAR 11 | HOM 13 | TAL 14 | POC 22 | POC 20 | IND 9 | KEN 27 | TEX 14 | KAN 37 | NHA 23 | MCH 9 | MCH 21 | DRC 25 | DOV 27 | DOV 21 | DAY 5 | DAR 38 | RCH 26 | BRI 22 | LVS 28 | TAL 24 | ROV 21 | KAN 18 | TEX 38 | MAR 21 | PHO 15 | 22nd | 597 | [58] | |||
2021 | 23XI Racing | 23 | Toyota | DAY 17 | DRC 26 | HOM 22 | LVS 28 | PHO 16 | ATL 16 | BRD 27 | MAR 16 | RCH 26 | TAL 19 | KAN 26 | DAR 21 | DOV 11 | COA 39 | CLT 14 | SON 14 | NSH 20 | POC 14 | POC 5 | ROA 24 | ATL 14 | NHA 26 | GLN 23 | IRC 13 | MCH 19 | DAY 2 | DAR 21 | RCH 32 | BRI 16 | LVS 16 | TAL 1 | ROV 14 | TEX 32 | KAN 14 | MAR 25 | PHO 39 | 21st | 699 | [138] |
2022 | DAY 2 | CAL 19 | LVS 25 | PHO 22 | ATL 13 | COA 38 | RCH 26 | MAR 16 | BRD 28 | TAL 17 | DOV 16 | DAR 27 | KAN 10 | CLT 28 | GTW 26 | SON 36 | NSH 12 | ROA 35 | ATL 14 | NHA 3 | POC 8 | IRC 5 | MCH 2 | RCH 13 | GLN 35 | DAY 11 | 19th | 637 | [139] | |||||||||||||
45 | DAR 9 | KAN 1 | BRI 29 | TEX 25 | TAL 16 | ROV 7 | LVS 36 | HOM | MAR 8 | PHO 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2023 | 23 | DAY 20 | CAL 30 | LVS 4 | PHO 14 | ATL 27 | COA 37 | RCH 22 | BRD 12 | MAR 9 | TAL 28 | DOV 12 | KAN 4 | DAR 5 | CLT 4 | GTW 30 | SON 17 | NSH 15 | CSC 31 | ATL 25 | NHA 8 | POC 11 | RCH 12 | MCH 18 | IRC 18 | GLN 12 | DAY 12 | DAR 7 | KAN 32 | BRI 14 | TEX 3* | TAL 23 | ROV 16 | LVS 13 | HOM 6 | MAR 11 | PHO 10 | 10th | 2279 | [140] | ||
2024 | DAY 5 | ATL 5 | LVS 35 | PHO 16 | BRI 29 | COA 15 | RCH 13 | MAR 4 | TEX 7 | TAL 36 | DOV 32 | KAN 17 | DAR 7 | CLT 11 | GTW 21 | SON 20 | IOW 17 | NHA 34 | NSH 7 | CSC 13 | POC 10 | IND 5 | RCH 4 | MCH 26 | DAY 6 | DAR 16 | ATL 29 | GLN 17 | BRI 3 | KAN 17 | TAL 9 | ROV 9 | LVS 12 | HOM 18 | MAR 18 | PHO 7 | 18th | 878 | [141] | |||
2025 | DAY | ATL | COA | PHO | LVS | HOM | MAR | DAR | BRI | TAL | TEX | KAN | CLT | NSH | MCH | MXC | POC | ATL | CSC | SON | DOV | IND | IOW | GLN | RCH | DAY | DAR | GTW | BRI | NHA | KAN | ROV | LVS | TAL | MAR | PHO | -* | -* |
Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 | 2 |
2019 | 13 | 38 | ||
2020 | 11 | 15 | ||
2021 | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 6 | 17 |
2022 | 16 | 2 | ||
2023 | 15 | 20 | ||
2024 | 24 | 5 |
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | NKNPSEC | Pts | Ref |
2010 | Rev Racing | 6 | Chevy | GRE 1 | SBO 20 | MAR 3 | NHA 3 | LRP 6 | LEE 1 | JFC 15 | NHA 9 | DOV 25 | 3rd | 1467 | [157] | |||||
76 | IOW 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
2011 | 6 | Toyota | GRE 6 | SBO 6* | RCH 1 | IOW 6 | BGS 6 | JFC 4 | LGY 9 | NHA 30 | COL 1* | GRE 6 | NHA 3 | DOV 1 | 2nd | 1871 | [158] | |||
2012 | Joe Gibbs Racing | 18 | Toyota | BRI 18 | GRE 1* | RCH 28 | IOW 26 | BGS 2 | JFC 7 | LGY 16 | CNB 22 | COL 3 | IOW 11 | NHA 3 | DOV 2* | GRE 13 | CAR 2 | 7th | 470 | [159] |
2018 | Jefferson Pitts Racing | 27 | Chevy | NSM | BRI | LGY | SBO | SBO | MEM | NJM | TMP | NHA | IOW | GLN 6 | GTW | NHA | DOV | 42nd | 38 | [160] |
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
ARCA Racing Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | ARSC | Pts | Ref |
2013 | Venturini Motorsports | 55 | Toyota | DAY 35 | MOB | SLM | TAL | TOL | ELK | POC | MCH | ROA | WIN | CHI | NJE | POC | BLN | ISF | MAD | DSF | IOW | SLM | KEN | KAN | 137th | 55 | [161] |
Michael Samuel Wallace is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 0 Chevrolet Camaro for JD Motorsports. Born in Fenton, Missouri, he is the younger brother of Rusty Wallace, older brother of Kenny Wallace, and uncle of Steve Wallace. His daughter, Chrissy Wallace, and son, Matt Wallace, are also active in racing competition.
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, in 1992, JGR has won five Cup Series championships, four Xfinity Series championships and one ARCA Series championship.
Aric Michael Almirola is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 19 and 20 Toyota Supras for Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 16 Toyota Tundra for Hattori Racing Enterprises in the NASCAR Truck Series. Almirola previously competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series as well as what are now the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West.
David Leon Starr is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang for MBM Motorsports, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 66 Chevrolet Camaro for MBM Motorsports, the No. 14 Ford Mustang/Chevrolet Camaro for SS-Green Light Racing and the No. 35 Chevrolet Camaro for Joey Gase Motorsports. He has also previously competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he is a four-time race winner, as well as what are now the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West.
John Edward "Jeb" Burton IV is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro for Jordan Anderson Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Team AmeriVet. He is the son of Ward Burton, the nephew of Jeff Burton, and the cousin of Jeff's son Harrison Burton. He competed for several seasons as a regular driver at South Boston Speedway, an American racing circuit where his family is historically known for competing, as well as at Ace Speedway. Burton has raced in each of NASCAR's three national series.
Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) was an American professional dirt racing team that competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. They formerly competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, CARS Tour, ARCA/CRA Super Series, Southern Super Series, ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, and ARCA Menards Series West, and was also the parent company of Super Late Model chassis constructor Rowdy Manufacturing. Originally fielding Toyota Tundras since its inception, the team switched to Chevrolet Silverados beginning in 2023. The team last fielded two full-time Chevrolet Silverados: the No. 4 for Chase Purdy and the No. 51, which was driven each year by the team owner Kyle Busch along with Jack Wood and multiple Chevrolet drivers from other NASCAR series.
Tyler Reed Dillon is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. He has also competed in what is now the ARCA Menards Series, what are now the ARCA Menards Series East and West, and what is now known as the NASCAR Canada Series in the past.
Timothy Grant Hill is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 56 Toyota Tundra for his team, Hill Motorsports, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for MBM Motorsports.
John Hunter Nemechek is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 26 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. He is the son of NASCAR driver Joe Nemechek and was the 2012 champion in the Allison Legacy Series.
Daniel Brian Hemric is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
Tyler George Reddick is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE for 23XI Racing, and part-time in the No. 26 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. He is a two-time champion in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, winning consecutive titles in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, Reddick set a NASCAR record at Daytona for the closest finish in NASCAR Xfinity Series history by 0.0004 seconds.
William McComas Byron Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro for the same team. He won the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Championship and the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award in the 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. The following season he won both the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship and 2017 Sunoco Rookie of the Year. Byron also won the 2018 MENCS Sunoco Rookie of the Year award. He is the 2024 Daytona 500 winner.
Kaz Grala is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 36 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Front Row Motorsports and the No. 15 Mustang Dark Horse for Rick Ware Racing. He has also previously competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Pinty's Series as well as what is now the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West.
AM Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series fielding the No. 15 Ford Mustang Dark Horse full-time for Harrison Burton. They also compete in the ARCA Menards Series fielding the No. 32 Ford Mustang full-time for Christian Rose. The team also had a technical alliance with Stewart–Haas Racing. The team used to compete the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series fielding the No. 22 Ford F-150 part-time for multiple drivers.
Zane Michael Smith is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports in an alliance with Trackhouse Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 91 Chevrolet Silverado for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. He won the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship driving for Front Row Motorsports.
Tyler Randal Gibbs is an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 19 and 20 Toyota GR Supras for JGR. Gibbs was the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion and 2021 ARCA Menards Series champion. He is the grandson of former NFL coach and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs. He is also a co-owner of JGR.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series was the 73rd season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 50th season for the modern era Cup Series. The season started at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, where it was the first year that the non-points event was run on the track's road course layout instead of the oval. That race was followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races, and the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, the first points race of the season. The regular season also ended at Daytona with the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 on August 28, where Kyle Larson won the Regular Season Championship. Following the 2021 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 31, Chevrolet claimed its 40th Manufacturer's Championship and its first since 2015. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 7 with Larson earning his first Cup Series championship after a 10-win season.
The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series was the 74th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 51st season for the modern Cup Series. The 2022 season marked the debut of the Next Gen Car, which was originally supposed to debut in 2021, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this was the first season to have races covered by USA Network, which took over for the now-defunct NBCSN.
23XI Racing is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. It is owned and operated by Hall of Fame basketball player Michael Jordan, along with current Joe Gibbs Racing driver and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin. The team name represents a combination of Michael Jordan's No. 23 he wore during most of his NBA career and Denny Hamlin's No. 11 which he has driven his entire career in the Cup series. The organization fields the Nos. 23, 35, and 45 Toyota teams full-time for drivers Bubba Wallace, Riley Herbst, and Tyler Reddick. They currently have a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing.
Rajah Kirby Caruth is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 71 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports. On March 1, 2024, Caruth won the 2024 Victoria's Voice Foundation 200, becoming the third Black driver to win in one of NASCAR's three national series, joining Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace.