NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace recently received loud boos from the audience at his first race since being suspended for fighting racer Kyle Larson.
According to IJR, Wallace received loud boos from audience members during the racer introductions at Nascar’s Cup Series event–more than what Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch received when their names were announced. The event reportedly took place at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia on Oct. 30.
“Most boos in driver intros: Bubba Wallace, and it wasn’t very close (way more than Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs),” racing writer Jeff Gluck tweeted with a video of what happened.
Most boos in driver intros: Bubba Wallace, and it wasn’t very close (way more than Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs). pic.twitter.com/wti0kneWC1
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) October 30, 2022
Wallace had reportedly returned from a one-week suspension, in which he was reprimanded for physically attacking Larson, his rival. He was suspended for retaliating against the 30-year-old after a collision that wrecked their vehicles at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NASCAR reported.
Bubba Wallace shows his frustration with Kyle Larson after the accident that takes each of them out of the race:
🎥 @NASCARonNBC pic.twitter.com/Fg9im6iEAp
— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) October 16, 2022
The following day, he apologized to NASCAR fans and his corporate sponsors but declined to specifically apologize to Larson.
“I want to apologize for my actions on Sunday following the on-track incident with Kyle Larson and the No. 5 car,” the Alabama native’s statement said. “My behavior does not align with the core values that are shared by 23XI Racing and our partners, who have played a crucial role in my incredible journey to the top of this great sport.”
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Wallace is reportedly most known for a 2020 controversy in which he said a garage door pull rope was a hangman’s noose. He called it a “straight up noose,” prompting the FBI to investigate and conclude that it was a garage pull.
That isn’t the first time NASCAR has been accused of condoning racism though. Back in 2016, the CEO of Diversity Motorsports, Terrance Cox III, sued the traditionally white racing company for allegedly gatekeeping it from African Americans. Cox sued the company for $500 million, saying that “in 2016, motorsports remain the most racially segregated sport in the United States.” The suit also alleged that “[Nascar has] been complicit in, and supportive of, the racially discriminatory environment that virtually excludes African-Americans from meaningful participation in motorsports racing in the United States.”
NASCAR was founded in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1948 and has since been a white-dominated sport. Its fans pride themselves in such, as confederate flags have been flown at its games for many years. However, as times changed, more Black racers have increasingly become a part of the sport. Yet, they still face the challenge of enduring the hecklers and disapproval that comes with it.
