Bubba Wallace, who some now refer to as the Colin Kaepernick of NASCAR, decided to pat himself on the back this week. The driver says that the world of racing is now “more inclusive” than ever with a “new” fan base thanks to his race-baiting antics.
Bubba Wallace Says NASCAR Is ‘More Inclusive’ Than Ever
“I feel that overall we’ve made the sport more inclusive for people that may not otherwise have felt completely welcomed,” Wallace, 27, told People Magazine. “Hats off to NASCAR, and everything they’ve done to help create change and welcome the new fan base.”
“We want all people — current, future, and past generations — to know that you’re always welcome at a race,” he added.
Wallace is currently the only African American top tier driver in NASCAR.
Earlier this year, he made headlines when he claimed to have found a noose hanging in his garage before a race just after NASCAR banned the confederate flag from all races.
After the FBI investigated, however it was concluded that the “noose” was actually just a piece of rope that had been in the garage since last year, long before Wallace was ever assigned to it.
Related: NASCAR Star Bubba Wallace Gets Obliterated By Top Helmet Designer – ‘F*** Bubba & F*** BLM’
He Refuses To Apologize
Afterward, Wallace refused to apologize for effectively insinuating that he had been the victim of a hate crime upon finding this “noose.”
Instead saying that he will “just keep fighting the good fight for me and continue to stand up for what I believe in.”
Even President Donald Trump called on Wallace to apologize for the incident.
“Has @BubbaWallace apologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX? That & Flag decision has caused lowest ratings EVER!” Trump tweeted.
Not only did Wallace continue to refuse to apologize, he also fired back at Trump in an ad for Root Insurance. In the commercial, Wallace can be seen walking through a crowd of reporters asking him to apologize, but he emphatically refuses to do so.
NASCAR Fans Might Not Share Bubba Wallace’s View
Wallace continues to stand by his story in interviews as well.
“Whether tied in 2019 or whatever, it was a noose,” Wallace told CNN’s Don Lemon. “So it wasn’t directed at me, but somebody tied a noose.”
NASCAR may be “more inclusive” than ever, but it is also being watched less than ever, as ratings for the sport have been on the decline.
The numbers don’t lie. NASCAR lost viewers in 2020.
But it sounds like Bubba Wallace might consider that a win given he’s intent on bringing a “new” kind of fan to the motorsport.
A statement like that could hit some longtime and loyal NASCAR fans right in the gut.
Perhaps the higher-ups at NASCAR need to realize that fans don’t like being lectured to about social justice and “racism” by overpaid athletes like Wallace, who is too full of himself to even say a simple apology when he makes a clear mistake.
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