Race: Bubba Wallace – NASCAR Driver Opens Up on What Ryan Blaney’s First Win of 2021 Meant to Him

It is no secret that Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney are very good friends away from the track. So when the Team Penske driver won at Atlanta last year, Wallace was happy for him. In the Race: Bubba Wallace docuseries, there was a segment about the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Over here, the 23XI Racing driver talked about the race and how it panned out.

When Blaney reached Victory Lane, the first thing that Wallace did was congratulate him. Speaking about that moment, he said, “I’ve known Ryan since we were kids. Just kind of growing up through the same ranks. I thought that was pretty cool, getting his first win of the year. So I walked over there to congratulate him.”

Ryan Blaney also congratulated Bubba Wallace for his first win

A few races down the line, it was the #12 driver’s turn to offer his congratulations. This was when the African-American driver took his first career Cup Series win at the Talladega Superspeedway. The best part was that Wallace won on home soil, as he is an Alabama native. It is worth mentioning that Blaney bagged his first career win, all the way back in 2017. Even still, the African-American driver was one of the first to personally congratulate him.

Ryan Blaney himself admitted that he wanted to be one of the first drivers to see Wallace. At that time, the two interacted with each other during the initial rain delay. The two are so tight with each other that when some fans took to Twitter to discredit the 23XI Racing driver, Blaney defended him.

Now, the two of them are looking forward to the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. Last time out at the Daytona 500, Wallace finished in a fine 2nd place, while Blaney himself finished 4th, as the second-best Penske car.

READ MORE: Bubba Wallace’s Father Refused to Be a Part of His Netflix Docu-Series ‘Race’ – Here’s Why