Who Is Bubba Wallace? A Year Into Fatherhood, A Changed Man

“What you see is what you get.”

And what you get with Bubba Wallace is an unapologetically authentic driver for 23XI Racing — co-owned by driver Denny Hamlin and basketball legend Michael Jordan.

The 31-year-old Wallace is the only full-time Black driver in the Cup Series — he is only the second Black driver to win at the Cup level and first since Wendell Scott won in 1963 at Jacksonville. He championed NASCAR’s removal of the Confederate flag at races, a divisive topic among NASCAR fans. He also gets his share of cheers and boos at driver introductions.

Wallace, who sits 50 points above the cutoff entering the first-round elimination race Sunday at Bristol, sat down with FOX Sports during the Cup playoff media day and discussed life off the track, life that changed on Sept. 29, 2024, when he and his wife Amanda welcomed their first child, Becks Hayden Wallace.

Who is Bubba Wallace?

Man, I don’t know why I’ve been thinking about this as of late, but what you see is what you get. I walk in the room and immediately start taking jabs at you, Bob, that doesn’t change. … I like to joke around, be sarcastic. If I get one inkling of — not a weakness because that sounds bad — but something that you are strong-minded about, I just jump right in. I’m just always taking jabs, trying to press your buttons and see where your limits are. That’s me.

An exhausted Bubba Wallace celebrates with son Becks after winning the Brickyard 400.

How would [your wife] Amanda describe you?

Just put explicit, explicit, explicit. Bunch of beeps. That’s how she would describe me.

If [son] Becks could talk, how would he describe you?

Haha. That’s a good question. I don’t know. Hopefully a good dad, right? I think we just love to have fun with him. I don’t even know. … That’s a deep question there, Bob. I wasn’t ready for that.

Did you have to get rid of your drums or are you not allowed to play your drums? Or can you still play your drums? 

We moved into a house and I got a whole designated drum room/game room. I set the drum set up about a month ago. And I should have a picture of him sitting in the drum chair, holding the drumsticks. The throne, not the drum chair. It’s called “the throne.” It’s set up and ready to go, and he’s actually a fan. I’ll make beats and stuff with my hands throughout the house, and he just locks in. So I think he’s going to be like me. My mom said that I was beating on pots and pans when I was two, and so Becks will be one [later this] month, which is crazy. And I think he’ll follow that suit.

You post a decent amount of him on your socials. Are you ever hesitant to do so? It’s not that he can see what people say?

No. I mean, hell, I’ve heard every name in the book about myself. So what’s new?

How has fatherhood changed you?

To not care, honestly, not care what people say about me. I have all the time in the world now to focus on my kid, and that’s all that matters. It’s the most important thing. Allowing Becks to change my perspective on life has been the best thing that’s happened to me. It’s all about him. You have to figure out how to survive with a child now and make sure he’s eating right and sleeping right. And when he has a tummy ache, you have to figure it out. And the only way that he’s telling you is by crying. You go through these hardships because you don’t know what he needs. I was told that the only way that babies can communicate for the longest time until they start talking is by crying. And so you have to grow accustomed to that and not let it throw you over the edge as much as he can scream and throw a fit. Something is wrong. So it’s up to you to figure that out. And while you’re figuring that out, you have no time to think about anything else. No time to think about how bad the race went the previous night or how bad your season’s going. Or even how good of a win Indy was. In those moments, you’re figuring out everything about your kid, and it’s a nice reset.

Father and son at the track.

You’ve also been racing Legends cars [small cars on a quarter-mile track] this summer with fellow NASCAR driver Shane van Gisberben and INDYCAR driver Scott McLaughlin. Have you guys settled all the dinners [for who performs the worst]?

I think we’re settled. Rain — Mother Nature — came through and saved me a couple of times. So I peaked in Legend cars probably 15 years ago and never should have come back. But it was fun. It was cool to see SVG and Scottie really enjoy it. The first couple weeks were like you couldn’t wipe the smile off their faces. And then once it clicked, you could start sensing the frustration of how they’re trying to find more speed and get faster, more competitive, learning how to pass. It was cool to see that whole transition.

You said that you had heard every name in the book. Is there any part of you that still wonders — how in the world did I become so polarizing?

I mean, it’s the obvious, right? But I would say from the get-go, I’ve always kind of been very vocal. I’m not afraid to voice my opinion. I’m not afraid to show when I’m mad. And for some reason, people want a ton of personality, but they don’t want it from me. And not just me in general, but it’s mind-boggling how somebody can get out of a car, go through all the emotions, heat of the moment, get asked a question, answer it, and then get shunned upon for showing personality, showing that you care too much and [then] you have anger management problems and all these things. It’s kind of you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. And I used to really focus on why am I damned if I do that? I don’t care. I’m not going to change for anybody. It’s full circle moment to how we started this interview. This is what you get. What you see is what you get.

The force is strong with this one (via Wallace’s Instagram).

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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