Don't expect to hear any political statements from Bubba this time around.
The driver of the #23 car for 23XI Racing, Bubba Wallace found himself in the middle of a firestorm back in 2020 after it was reported that a noose was found in his garage ahead of a race at Talladega. The FBI even investigated the incident, but the "noose" turned out to be a garage door pull that had been there long before the stall was assigned to NASCAR's only black driver.
The entire incident sparked backlash against Wallace, and though he wasn't the one who found or reported the alleged "noose," the driver was accused of participating in a "hoax." But Bubba remained defiant and defended himself against the criticism:
“It was a noose. Whether tied in 2019 or whatever, it was a noose. So, it wasn’t directed at me but somebody tied a noose. That’s what I’m saying.”
But then-President Donald Trump criticized the driver, calling on Bubba to apologize
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1280117571874951170
And Bubba responded to the president, calling out "hate from the POTUS."
https://twitter.com/BubbaWallace/status/1280208949749460999
Well that was four years ago, and here we are with Donald Trump running for president once again. But don't expect Bubba to be jumping into the political chatter this time around.
During an interview with Fox News, the NASCAR driver said that it feels like a "waste of time" to talk politics:
"Investing my time into that seems like a waste of time. I was definitely more vocal then because our sport was in desperate need of change."
Since 2020, Bubba has quit social media and he had his first child just this past month. And he says that quitting social media has been a positive change for his mental health:
"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."
And he says his priorities have changed since the 2020 election:
"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. And I think I've said that from day one and that hasn't changed and nor will it change."
Sounds like a much better plan to me. Everybody's so set in their ways these days that nobody's going to change their mind anyway. Better to just rise above it and focus on what matters.
Oh, but Bubba did have one important message he wanted to share:
"Go to McDonald's. 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."
