Here’s Why Bubba Wallace Gives the Likes of Kyle Busch & Martin Truex Jr the Finger at NASCAR Races

NASCAR is often notorious for being a hot-tempered sport. However, it is rare for fists to fly, as the drivers still need to adhere to a sort of code of conduct. So, they usually express themselves in a less overt manner. One example is 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace.

Like every NASCAR driver, Wallace is not immune to getting bumped and giving back in kind. On the racetrack, he has been caught up in a few conflicts with his fellow competitors. The most recent one was between himself and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch during the 2021 season.

Admittedly, the spats are not very fierce, as they mostly end up with swear words being flung around. However, Wallace has been the recipient of a few rude hand gestures. The most common opponent was his good friend Daniel Suarez, though there is a good story behind that. As it turned out, they were dueling at Pocono in 2019 on the last lap. The two collided and Wallace flipped Suarez the bird, leading to a post-race confrontation on pit road.

Bubba Wallace finally explained the reason behind the gestures

At that time, the African-American driver insisted that he was just having a bit of fun. However, Suarez was still mad at that time, though he eventually forgave him. Wallace said, “I do it to the guys that I like and can race around. If it’s Kyle Busch or (Martin) Truex are coming up to lap us, I’ll give them the finger, hey come on by. It’s funny. We’ll talk about it and laugh at it later. Truex is starting to pick up on it. It’s funny. That’s all it was.”

Now that the initial anger was out of the way, both Suarez and Wallace flip the bird as their form of banter. Unfortunately, it did not seem that others appreciated the stunt, notably Kyle Busch. At the Kansas Speedway, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver snapped when Wallace subjected him to some aggressive tactics.

Luckily, once the red mist faded, Kyle Busch figured out that he was in the wrong. So, he called up the 23XI Racing driver and apologized for his behavior. The #18 driver confessed that during that race, Wallace had the better car and his own was ‘fading’ off. Naturally, his frustration grew, and he got snappy.

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