The 2023 Cup Series season has been one of growth for Bubba Wallace, but it has come with its own set of challenges. Every driver experiences the highs and lows over the course of a season and the 23XI Racing star is no different. The good thing is that this year, he has learned from his mistakes for the most part and matured as a driver. His growth has certainly been positive as far as team boss Michael Jordan is concerned. The NBA legend shared a personal moment with Bubba after the Talladega race. However, there are some who don’t want to read too much into it.

Bubba Wallace did not have a good day at the Talladega Superspeedway. The 29-year-old needed a strong finish to get himself into the top 8. However, he could only finish as 23rd, earning a measly 14 points. The 23XI Racing star was disappointed with himself at the end of the race as he believed that it was his call that cost him and his team a good result.

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Thankfully, Bubba Wallace had the support of his boss Michael Jordan. The NBA legend seemed to be consoling the 29-year-old, which is always a good thing as far as a driver is concerned. Knowing that your team is behind you even when the going gets tough is important in every sport and NASCAR is no different.

Considering that 23XI Racing owner Michael Jordan is arguably one of the greatest athletes of all time, for him to come up to Bubba Wallace and reassure him is indeed something special. There can be no doubt that the 29-year-old racer will do his best to reward his boss’s trust and empathy at the Charlotte Roval.

However, not many people feel that way. On a recent episode of the NASCAR on NBC podcast, former race car driver Kyle Petty made his thoughts clear about the Wallace–Jordan moment.

“Listen, I don’t care whether it’s Michael Jordan, I don’t,” he said. “And I don’t mean this in a bad way. I’ve seen Rick Hendrick do the same thing. Walk up to Chase Elliott and wrap his arm around him. Walk up to Kyle Larson and wrap his arm around him. Walk up to Jeff Gordon and wrap his arm around him and just start talking.”

“I take Michael Jordan out of that equation because I have seen other owners do the same thing when a driver has had a day that he doesn’t feel like is his best day. But it’s gotta be gratifying to Bubba to be in that position to be able to get out of the car and not have to go in the back door of the truck and kind of slide out without your owner seeing you because you feel like you drove a terrible race,” Petty added.

If anyone needed consoling at the end of the Talladega race, it was Bubba Wallace. The 29-year-old was beside himself as he believed that he cost him and his teammate a good finish in the race.

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Bubba Wallace distraught after “costing” team at Talladega

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In the post-race interview, Bubba Wallace shared his disappointments and how he and the team needed to go back to the drawing board ahead of the Charlotte Roval race.

“Just, I don’t know, we need to go back and debrief and figure out. But track position was so important. If the bottom and the middle lanes were riding and the pace slowed down enough you could make the third lane work, but that last pit stop we had a number we were trying to get for fuel and we came out 13th or 14th when we were 5th,” Wallace said.

“I made a wrong call there I cost us and the #45 a lot of positions and a really good day. Didn’t make the right moves there at the end but just trying to make up for what we had lost, track position-wise,” the 23XI Racing star said.

Going into the Charlotte Roval, Bubba Wallace will have his work cut out for him. All hope is not lost as he is 9 points behind the cutline which is not a lot. The 23XI Racing star has been in this position before and will give it everything he has to make it into the next round.

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