NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, a polarizing figure who heavily weighed in on the political and racial landscape of the country by promoting a "noose" hoax in 2020, has finally figured out that keeping politics out of sports is the better path.
Or so it seems.
Wallace spoke to Fox News Digital earlier this week and voiced his opinion on the 2024 election by not expressing one at all. His comments are further evidence of his desire to push away from social media and the toxicity it tends to bring.
The outlet gave the driver of the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE an open floor to discuss the election, and he instead offered life advice.
"Go to McDonald's," Wallace said. "Buy a meal, get the 10-piece chicken nugget, fries, Dr. Pepper and then round up that money, all of that money goes to [Ronald McDonald House Charities]."
That's quite a pivot from the man who previously had been a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter protest movement and had called for banning the Confederate flag from NASCAR events.
Not to mention the borderline Jussie Smollett-esque garage pull incident. He was heavily engrossed in politics in 2020 when he adamantly promoted allegations that a “noose” had been placed in his garage.
While Wallace didn’t report the alleged hate crime himself, he certainly played up reports that he had been the victim of said hate crime.
The FBI investigated the incident and determined it was actually a garage door pulldown that had been there for over a year and that there was, in fact, no hate crime.
Donald Trump called on Wallace to apologize for the incident, but instead, the driver blasted the then-president for spreading "hate" and accused his supporters of being hypocrites.
The highest-finishing Black driver in the Daytona 500 addressed a message to "the next generation and little ones following my footsteps," encouraging them to "always deal with the hate being thrown at you with LOVE! ... Even when it's hate from the POTUS."
To the next generation and little ones following my foot steps..#LoveWins pic.twitter.com/tVaV3pkdLe
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) July 6, 2020
Wallace absolutely unloaded on those who criticized him for being political, when NASCAR had Trump attend the Daytona 500 that year.
"I’m over hearing people say 'leave politics out of NASCAR' when they are the same damn ones that were drooling over the fact of the BIGGEST political person being at the Daytona 500 this year," he wrote on X.
"Same damn ones that love when the Trump car is on track ... Buncha damn clowns!!"
I’m over hearing people say “leave politics out of NASCAR” when they are the same damn ones that were drooling over the fact of the BIGGEST political person being at the Daytona 500 this year. Same damn ones that love when the Trump car is on track..Buncha damn clowns!!🙄🤬 https://t.co/AdrrYoFxgb
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) August 28, 2020
While he was clearly instigating some of the toxicity on social media during the last election, Wallace has, rightly so, opted to leave it all in the rearview mirror this time around. And that's likely a blow to the Kamala Harris campaign, which loves any opportunity to play the race card when it comes to attacking Trump.
His beliefs are still his beliefs, but Wallace, who just signed an extension with Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing, opted to address them on a more granular level.
"My beliefs stand strong in just being good humans to other people is the best way to go about life. No matter what side you're on, no matter what color you are, at the end of the day we're in this world together and we have to make it work together," he told Fox.
"And I think I've said that from day one and that hasn't changed and nor will it change."
Absolutely nothing wrong with that. "Be kind to others regardless of our differences" is certainly a message we can all get behind.
Bubba Wallace, in the midst of an up-and-down racing season, which saw overall improvements but the ultimate disappointment in not making the playoffs, announced that his life had improved dramatically after stepping away from social media and avoiding “toxic comments” from NASCAR fans.
“It’s been so nice,” Wallace told reporters back in August. “Just being caught up in other people’s lives, and just start comparing, like, ‘Man, I want…’ it’s just, aside from the toxic comments, social media is just a lot at times.”
He reiterated that stance in his interview with Fox.
"Social media nowadays is just a way for people to hide behind a screen and voice their opinions on things they don't really know about," Wallace said.
That, right there, is what is known as a full-circle moment. Lesson learned, it seems. Many people would be wise to follow in his footsteps on this matter.
Wallace has been public with his bouts of depression and anxiety, according to the Associated Press. And other drivers throughout the course of his career have noticed his propensity to dwell on things.
Sports Illustrated described it as “doom scrolling through his feed on X,” while Wallace admitted to “reading the comments,” something anybody who has a public spotlight would be well advised to avoid.
Bubba Wallace said since Pocono in July, he has pretty much avoided social media. pic.twitter.com/C7WwOWrVpR
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 23, 2024
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has previously spoken on the driver of the #23 car’s inability to let go of things and move forward.
“Bubba has shared with us here in this room and everyone else his challenges with his emotions and his mental state of mind,” Earnhardt said. “I appreciate being open about that. We all probably have more mental challenges and battles going on than we like to admit.”
“But he’s been open about that, and it seems like Bubba definitely does dwell on certain instances like this and maybe makes it a bit larger in his own mind than it is to the rest of us.”
Prior to his departure from social media, Wallace admitted to feeling “miserable” at the track for years due to personal and professional struggles.
“It’s a pressure cooker being at the Cup level. And the last four years I’ve been miserable just trying to walk around like everything’s OK,” he told Fox Sports.
He's a better driver, by all accounts, when he's focused on the right things. We'd imagine he's probably a better person — as we all are — when focused on the right things. And as of this moment, those right things involve his family.
The NASCAR driver and his wife Amanda welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Becks Hayden, in late September. Amanda gave birth while her husband was out on the track racing.
Congrats to Bubba and Amanda Wallace on the birth of their baby boy! ♥️ pic.twitter.com/ehZrylid9n
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 1, 2024
Amazing how the birth of one's first child changes your life perspective.
"Now, with being a dad and trying to be the best that I can be here for my race team and my team here, that's where I'm investing my energy so that's all you can really ask for," he said when discussing his shift away from social media.
"You have your kid at home and a full family to provide for now, so it's crazy to go through all that."
While Bubba Wallace received a great deal of criticism for his comments in the past and his efforts in promoting a race hoax, he deserves an equal amount of praise for keeping politics out of sports and for letting go of his own hate.
That's all most race fans had been hoping for from the start.
