“Not a Professional Athlete”- ‘Fragile’ Bubba Wallace’s Kyle Petty Retaliation Backfires As Reputed NASCAR Insider Gets Brutally Honest

The controversial wheel of NASCAR doesn’t seize to turn each day. With each passing racing weekend, the drivers and oftentimes the teams apparently seem to find themselves in the crossfires of NASCAR insiders and veterans, along with avid NASCAR enthusiasts. Being bashed for their lapses of judgment or for their racing form, drivers fail to evade the scrutinous eyes of these delegates.

Evidently this time, it was Michael Jordan’s NASCAR prodigy, Bubba Wallace, who found himself in front of the raging gun of Kyle Petty, owing to his recent actions on the track at Daytona. As the controversies bubbled up, it seemed that the NASCAR world stood on conflicted ground as another NASCAR insider joined the side of Kyle Petty.

Bubba Wallace delivers his reply about being mentally fragile

The final race of the regular season in Daytona was monumental for 23XI Racing and its driver, Bubba Wallace. The No. 23 Toyota driver was able to enter the playoffs for the first time in his Cup Series career, both on the basis of points and by virtue of Chris Buescher’s victory.

As the burden of the playoffs intensified ahead of the race, the driver declined a pre-race interview requested by the NBC journalists. Bubba cited the fact that the questions that were put forth added to his mental toll. The news of Bubba Wallace’s declining interview was broken by the NBC reporter during the pre-race ceremony broadcast.

On account of this, veteran NASCAR driver Kyle Petty was asked for his opinions on Bubba Wallace’s conduct by NASCAR on NBC podcast host Nate Ryan. To which the former Cup Series champion retorted, “For professional athletes to refuse interviews is unacceptable in any game. Unacceptable. Unacceptable to your fans. Unacceptable to the sport. It’s just not!”

“Ty Gibbs did the same thing. He didn’t want to do an interview. And I don’t know how these guys think that’s acceptable in any world because that’s what you’re here for, that’s what you’re here for.”

He added, “You got to handle it. Put it on your shoulders and carry it. If mentally we are, he is that fragile, then maybe this is not the game for it.”

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However, it seems that the words pinched Bubba Wallace at the right place as he tried to settle the scores with a befitting reply, ahead of the playoffs race at Darlington.

In a pre-race interview, Bubba Wallace on being asked about his response to Petty’s comment replied, “Well, I am here to fill my media obligations before the race. Yeah, I got a word count though. If I start speaking too many words I start feeling anxious and mentally fragile. Now on the sh*t that matters, we have done some good adjustments I believe.”

NASCAR veteran delivers his stance on Bubba Wallace’s actions toward the media

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The reply by Bubba Wallace seemed to be cheered upon by the NASCAR fans, as they showed support for Wallace’s mental health and did not compromise it.

However, the words did not settle well for veteran NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass. The FOX reporter, in a comment under a Twitter post, wrote, “Kyle Petty isn’t wrong…. and for Bubba to bring this up almost a week later? He is so fragile mentally and not a professional athlete.”

The comment by Bob Pockrass was surely out of the blue and aligned with the views of Kyle Petty.

Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how the incidents flow from this point on. Will the war of words continue in the NASCAR world, or will Wallace bury the hatchet as he competes in the playoffs?

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