For Bubba Wallace, the road to stardom in NASCAR was never easy with the spotlight strongly fixed on him. He was the only African-American driver in the Cup Series, and the raw talent he possessed put him under more pressure.<\/p>\n
But Wallace delivered. He won Rookie of the Year in 2018, driving for Richard Petty Motorsports, after a rollercoaster of a season in which he had three top-10 and one top-5 finish.<\/p>\n
The fame that came with his growth eventually, was huge. In an interview with Frontstretch, after the 2018 season had ended, Wallace explained the clout he received for upgrading himself from the Xfinity Series to the Cup Series. He said<\/a>, \u201cWhen people think about NASCAR, they think about Sunday. They think about Earnhardt. And that\u2019s it. Talladega Nights, that\u2019s what they think about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo, when you talk about Trucks and Xfinity, they\u2019re like, \u2018What do you mean you race trucks?\u2019 You\u2019ve gotten these questions, too. But once you get to the Cup level, it\u2019s like \u2018Oh, that\u2019s cool, that\u2019s badass.’\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Wallace stayed with Richard Petty Motorsports for two more seasons before moving to 23XI Racing<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\n Since then, Wallace has secured three victories, with a 10th place finish in 2023 being the highlight of his career. His performances and consistency have earned him far more popularity than he had during his rookie year.<\/p>\n Wallace\u2019s two-word verdict about the NASCAR-23XI racing settlement<\/p>\n For over a year, Wallace\u2019s team, 23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan<\/a> and fellow NASCAR star Denny Hamlin<\/a>, had been embroiled in an antitrust lawsuit with NASCAR. During the proceedings, there were serious concerns about how the team\u2019s future might be shaped. At one point, there was even the possibility that Wallace and his teammate, Tyler Reddick, could have been forced to compete as open drivers.<\/p>\n