Video: Bubba Wallace Loses Tire At Full Speed On Turn 16 In Austin

Bubba Wallace started the weekend with high hopes; however, disaster struck when he lost his left rear tire after a lug nut came loose at Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. He was alone in the crash but the other drivers were cautioned to check for debris.

Bubba Wallace Loses Wheel 

Wallace had kicked the day off with a hopeful attitude, writing on Twitter, “The track. The car. The preparation. Today’s going to be a good day.”

In contrast, he ended the day on a sadder note, writing, “All ya can do is laugh. Ha.”

Related: Bubba Wallace Had A ‘Hard’ Last-Lap Crash Hot On The Heels Of Leader William Byron

‘I Was Told To Take It Easy’

Wallace was on Lap 45 when the wheel came off his car.

“I was told to take it easy, just maintain our position and it felt like I had a flat spot,” Wallace said of the wreck, according to Outsider. “Went back out, I still felt it a little bit. I thought it was mental. Everything was fine and finally it just snapped.”

NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass explained the situation by saying, “sounds like Bubba Wallace has lost second gear. Team doesn’t sound optimistic that transmission will last through the end of the race.”

This comes just one week after Wallace took what he described as his “hardest hit” in a crash during another race in Atlanta.

“All good. That was the hardest hit I’ve had,” Wallace said after that crash. “I think that was harder than Pocono.”

Related: NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace: ‘I Get Booed A Lot’

Bubba Wallace Goes ‘Woke’

Wallace has made a name for himself as the most “woke” figure in the world of NASCAR. He’s driven a Black Lives Matter car in the past, and he’s boasted about convincing NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag from races.

“Being real. Being yourself. That’s the easiest way of going about life,” Wallace recently said, according to Yahoo News. “The more I can be myself and feel comfortable with everything that I say and do, the companies that align with that, those are the ones that resonate the most with me because they’re uplifting and wanting to push that same positive message.”

“You have to go through these trials and tribulations to figure out as you go,” he continued. “I feel like my my mission in life may be much bigger than [just being a race-car driver.] So it’s understanding your spot in life and how to surround yourself with the right people to help you elevate not only yourself, but the people around you.”

Judging by what happened yesterday, however, Wallace might want to focus a little more on his racing, and a little less on being “woke.”