“Wants Winning Race Drivers”- NASCAR Star Bubba Wallace Ready to Fulfill Michael Jordan’s Expectations

Bubba Wallace is excited to finally meet Michael Jordan in person. He recently revealed that his conversations with the NBA legend and the new NASCAR team owner have been limited to the phone, but the Daytona 500 is when Wallace expects to shake Jordan’s hand for the first time.

In their first-ever conversation over the phone, the first few words Jordan said to Wallace were that ‘there is no running at the back’ at 23XI Racing.

Jordan wants to build a winning team and driver, and Wallace knew those expectations even before the conversation with Jordan.

“I mean, we all watched The Last Dance, right,” Wallace said during a recent interview. The Last Dance is Michael Jordan’s award-winning documentary, that gives a great insight into his will to win and his determination to work hard.

Bubba Wallace ready to live up to Michael Jordan’s confidence in him

Wallace is well aware of what Jordan expects him to do behind the wheel of the No. 23 car. At the same time, he takes great confidence from the fact that Jordan chose to invest in him and something ‘sparked his interest’ in Wallace and forming a NASCAR team.

“At the end of the day, he wants winning race cars, wants winning race drivers. And he took an opportunity to invest into me, and he’s seen something that sparked his interest to make this deal happen and move forward with it along with Denny,” Wallace said further.

Wallace is now just itching to get onto the racetrack and live up to those expectations Jordan has set.

“And so, I can’t thank them enough for allowing me to pilot their race cars and to utilize everything that I’ve learned in the last three seasons in the Cup level,” the 27-year-old added.

Jordan’s presence at the Daytona 500 will be huge for NASCAR

Wallace has set himself a personal goal of winning at least 2 races this year. Although it would be asking for too much from Wallace to bag one of those wins at the season-opening Daytona 500, he would love to do so with Jordan in attendance.

The iconic race, which already creates a huge amount of buzz every year, will certainly have a lot more eyeballs this time if Jordan will make an appearance to rally behind his team. Wallace already has a second-place finish at the 500 in the past and will certainly push hard to go one better in 2021.