Bubba Wallace Brags How He Made NASCAR Woke – ‘I Pissed A Lot Of People Off’

Last year, Bubba Wallace made a name for himself as the Colin Kaepernick of NASCAR when the driver made it his mission to make racing become “woke” and successfully fought to have the Confederate flag banned from races. These days, Bubba Wallace is officially team 23XI and not sweating his haters.

Like the true liberal elite that he is, Wallace is even giving himself a big pat on the back and singing his own praises in a new interview. 

Driver Bubba Wallace Recounts Road To Making NASCAR Woke

“I pissed a lot of people off,” Wallace, 27, said while talking about getting the Confederate flag banned on an episode of Just the Sip. 

“At the end of the day, I’m just a normal Joe that likes to have fun and race cars for a living,” Bubba added. “And that’s what I try to come across as, but, hey, when you start to speak on things that affect you in real life, people hate that. So now I’m hated. Oh well.”

Bubba Wallace is conveniently ignoring that his activism made him rich as well, as he has signed several lucrative endorsement deals since going full “woke.”

Instead of admitting the financial benefits that come with being an outspoken liberal activist in sports these days, Wallace claimed that he only did it for the issues themselves. 

Wallace alleged that he’d done his “research” and found that some people weren’t attending NASCAR races because of the Confederate flag being present at times.

“I was like, you know what? We could get this out of here,” Wallace said. “I mean, if this is holding back a huge race that we are trying to attract; a huge demographic that we’re trying to branch our [audience to], let’s just get rid of it. And it was as simple as that.”

Related: Bubba Wallace Brags That NASCAR Is ‘More Inclusive’ With ‘New’ Fans Despite Ratings Plummet

NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace Has A Message For His Haters

Wallace also had a message for those who were not happy about NASCAR’s Confederate flag ban.  

“It’s sad to see that so many people are stuck in their ways and don’t want to change,” he said. “And hey, I’m guilty of being afraid of change. I mean, you tell me to try something different at a restaurant that I’ve been going to for years, no. I’m not gonna do it. I don’t care how good it is…”

“But when it comes to things about your neighbors, about human beings and what’s right, it’s just like, why don’t you want to do due diligence? And why don’t you want to reach out and figure out, ‘Hmm, what is he really, actually talking about?’ instead of assuming things and thinking that it’s this, and thinking that it’s that, when it has nothing to do with what you’re thinking of,” he added. 

Related: Bubba Wallace Has A Message For NASCAR Fans Who Think He’s Made The Sport Too Political

Looking To The Future With Team 23XI

These days, Wallace is focused on the future, recently signing with NBA legend Michael Jordan’s NASCAR team.

“I’ll never forget the day we announced,” Wallace said. “I was getting a lot of phone calls and text messages from family and friends, and then an unknown number pops up with a simple text message, ‘Hey, glad to see this thing came through. Let’s get after it and go have fun. MJ.'”

Now Wallace will have the privilege of driving Jordan’s retired NBA number: 23. The 23XI racing team unveiled his new ride back in the fall.

If the rise of NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace is any indication, being a “woke” liberal activist in sports really does pay big.