NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace had a mesage for his fans and a seperate message for the ones who dislike him
On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series raced at Kansas Speedway. The 1.5-mile track hosted the Playoff event and brought in a non-playoff winner.
Bubba Wallace suffered from a loose wheel early in the race. He rebounded and found himself toward the front of the field in the final stage.
With about 100 laps to go, teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson ran side by side for 2nd. As they slowed each other down, Wallace picked up a run on both of them. Wallace slid both of them into turn one, at the same time. Wallace jumped from 4th to 2nd.
Just a few laps later, Wallace closed to the bumper of Alex Bowman and the battle for the lead was on. Wallace ran behind him for several laps, looking for a way by. Bowman got loose off turn four, allowing Wallace to drive under him and take the lead away.
Wallace led all of the remaining laps with a green flag pit stop between them. He held off a late race charge from his car owner, Denny Hamlin.
It’s the second win of his NASCAR Cup Series career. The 28-year-old last visited victory lane at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2021.
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After climbing from his car on the front stretch, Wallace walked right up to the camera with his finger to his mouth. A sibliminal message for his doudters, who at times, can be a bit loud.
“So proud of this team. Just thankful for the opportunity. I took this idea from a text from Denny, you know, before any of it even happened and he was ready to get the deal done,” Wallace told NBC Sports.
“And thankful, to shut the hell up for a lot of people.”
“It’s cool to beat the boss. But, we were lights out once we got to the lead.”
“True fans that are out there, thank you guys. Love you. It’s been a tough road, you guys are the best. And, let’s keep this train rolling.”
Wallace is currently driving the No. 45 as Kurt Busch sits out due to injury. The team moved him from the No. 23 to the No. 45 car as 23XI Racing chases an owner’s championship. A move that’s now a proven success.
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Wallace became the first black driver to win more than one race.
“It’s incredible,” Wallace responded to the stat in the media center after the race.
“It just makes you think back to when it all started, 20 years ago. How we were just showing up to races, each and every weekend, my dad would look for the stiffest competition to make us better. It was a lot of fun.”
“We just want to show up and win. Whatever history comes in after that, it all settles in behind because there’s no greater thing than winning.”
Wallace is in his 6th career season. He has 11 career top-5s with 5 of those coming this year alone. He also has 20 career top-10s with 8 of those also coming this season. It’s his best season, by far.
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Video
View the extended video highlights from Kansas Speedway here
