Bubba Wallace Finding Results, Relief Without Toxicity of Social Media
If Bubba Wallace seems more relaxed in recent weeks, it's because he is. Even after a disappointing 26th-place finish last weekend in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway which dropped him one point outside of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff cutline with just two races remaining until the Playoffs begin, Wallace remained upbeat in his post-race interviews.
In previous years, and situations, Wallace would not have been so cool under the collar about what transpired in Michigan. So, what's changed?
For starters, Wallace vowed to turn over a new leaf after a conversation with Kevin Harvick last month. Wallace had just been fined $50,000 for post-race contact on race-winner Alex Bowman on the cool-down lap following the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course. At the time, Wallace called the penalty, the best thing that had ever happened to him.
“The penalty was probably the best thing that happened to me,” Wallace explained in a media scrum at Pocono Raceway in July. “I’ve been miserable for years, walking around with a persona that I’m not proud of. I need to apologize to a lot of people.”
Wallace continued, “I’m just frustrated and trying way too hard and not focused on the right things.”
Determined to focus on the "right" things, the driver of the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota Camry XSE said on Friday at Daytona International Speedway that he has cut the cord on his social media accounts. The constant toxicity spewing from hateful bots, and people who simply don't like him for reasons outside of what happens on the racetrack, had become far too much for the 30-year-old racer. As had the feeling of having to keep up with the Joneses.
Without feverishly doom scrolling through his feed on X, Wallace has found relief.
Bubba Wallace said since Pocono in July, he has pretty much avoided social media. pic.twitter.com/C7WwOWrVpR
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 23, 2024
"It's been so nice," Wallace said on Friday of his quiet quit of social media. "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. I do miss the photography side of it, you know, posting all of that stuff. But it's just way better for the mentals. YouTube is my best friend."
Wallace went on to say that he simply googles for Bob Pockrass, an esteemed journalist for FOX Sports, news updates in order to keep up with any headlines he may miss in relation to NASCAR while he is serving his hiatus from social media.
While his accounts on X, and Facebook remain up, Wallace himself hasn't had much of anything to do with any posts on the accounts since Pocono. And what has happened in the races since he let social media go has proven that maybe the grind of "reading the comments", something it's never advised to do, had started to erode Wallace's on-track performance.
In the three races since Pocono, Wallace has finishes of fifth in the Brickyard 400, fourth at Richmond Raceway, and he led laps, and seemed destined to play a factor for the win last weekend at Michigan International Speedway until Kyle Larson lost control in front of him, to trigger a multicar crash, which hampered Wallace's car for the remainder of the event.
Next up for Wallace, is the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, one of the better tracks on the schedule for the Mobile, AL native. Wallace has five top-five finishes in 14 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at the 2.5-mile superspeedway in Florida, and an average finish of 12.4, which, if you know anything at all about superspeedway track average finishes, is rock solid.
While Wallace hasn't won a race since the fall event at Kansas Speedway in 2022, the driver of the No. 23 Toyota has become a much more consistent competitor on the track over the last couple of seasons. Last year, Wallace collected enough points over the 26 regular season events to secure his first-career NASCAR Cup Series Playoff berth. In the end, he finished 10th in the championship standings.
Without a win through the opening 24 events this season, Wallace is back in a points battle for the final NASCAR Cup Series Playoff slot. He heads into Saturday night's race at Daytona one point behind Ross Chastain, who holds the final spot, currently. He is 17 points behind Chris Buescher, who won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 a season ago, and 40 points behind Ty Gibbs, who is looking to secure his first-career Playoff berth this year.
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is set to kick off on Saturday, August 24 at 7:30 PM ET with television coverage of the event being provided by NBC and the NBC Sports App. The race will also be available on radio with coverage being provided by the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Front Row Motorsports teammates Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland will lead the field to green as the duo secured the first-ever front row sweep for the race team in Friday's qualifying session.
TOBY CHRISTIE