Toyota Racing – Bubba Wallace
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
DAYTONA BEACH (February 16, 2022) – 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace was made available to media prior to the Daytona 500 this Wednesday:
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 McDonalds Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing
How would you grade NASCAR’s diversity efforts from when you started to now?
“It’s kind of hard to say because I wasn’t really involved. I was just trying to get my feet under me when I first started in this sport in 2010. It’s just apples to oranges. I feel like we are trending upwards. There’s a lot of cool and exciting things happening in our sport. Go back to the Clash two weeks ago to see that demographic and environment – having some new faces out, having minorities out to experience this sport was super cool and just getting them to experience what race day is all about and what NASCAR is about is trending upwards. Representation matters. People at home watching on TV motivates them to come out and buy a ticket and watch.”
What are your thoughts on the new McDonald’s merchandise line?
“Did you see the pictures? Did you see the fiancé (Amanda Carter)? Dang, she was fine. She posted the photos, and I had some downtime on the way over here and I was like damn, who is that (to her). Hopefully it does well. McDonalds has done a lot for my career, and to have some fun away from the race track incorporating the racing line and that apparel line is super dope and super cool. We all had a lot of fun being involved. It was pretty cool.”
When are we going to stop hearing about the black drivers in NASCAR?
“It’s always the media asking that question. I’m never walking in and saying that. That’s always been my take. When will you stop hearing about me being the black driver? Whenever y’all stop saying it. Simple as that.”
Have your experiences changed the way you view that question?
“Where I’m at with the sport I’m in – I’m the only one at the top level right now so it’s fun walking that line and being confident in that and being comfortable. I’ve gotten here because of my talents and what I’ve been able to do. It creates a lot of excitement especially for Speedweeks this year just because of our superspeedway resume and what we’ve been able to do. But as far as a driver and going out there and competing, you get a new shot out there every weekend and I try to make the most of those opportunities every weekend.”
How is your growth with comfort talking about mental health?
“Just the mental health side of things – if things are not right at the top, it’s hard to carry on in life. Making sure your mentals are in check is very beneficial and very crucial to whatever you do. Being able to share my experiences and what I go through – what my mental mindset is – just that’s me being me. I had no idea it would reach such a new volume of people. I’m going to continue to help anyway that I can. That’s what it is about. Helping people understand themselves, be more comfortable with what they are saying. There is a stigma. I’m sure there is someone in this room that is struggling with depression or not in the right mental space, but I’m here to tell you that it is alright. It’s actually a strength that you can go out and voice your opinion and tell someone how you feel, so do it.”
Do you ever give Freddie Kraft a hard time about his podcast participation?
“As long as he can make sure I’m clear when I’m actually clear we’re good with it. Anything else he says, I don’t give a damn (laughter). That’s for him. I know he’s got calls to the NASCAR hauler and whatnot. As long as I’m not in the headlines, I’m good with it. Continue to be Freddie Kraft. He’s been enjoying that podcast too. He’s finally on full time. He was just part-time, start-and-park on the podcast and he’s full-time now – they got some funding, so he’s doing good. Proud of him.”
What are your thoughts on racing at Daytona and what do you think the racing in the Duels will be like?
“It’s an unknown. Erik (Jones) was talking about the limited number of resources we all have, so you have to kind of be smart. Things are kind of at a different pace, but our superspeedway resume, our Daytona resume has been really solid, so I don’t plan to change up much because when you start to change things that is when you get problems, so for us, we treat it as any other Speedweeks. Our Duel resume has been solid. Let’s keep that going and by our time in the race, just manage our race well on Sunday and just make sure we are there for the last two laps.”
Did you ever expect to be in this position when you came out with your thoughts on the confederate flag?
“I just thought it would be like starting out – where are we racing this week. We are going to show up and give it our all. If we win, we win. If we wreck, we wreck. We are going to come back again next week. There’s so much more obligations now that you are at the top level. It’s not just showing up and racing and having fun or whatnot. You still get to do that, but there are other things you have to fulfill first. It’s just different. It’s not something you can really go practice for or prepare yourself for because you don’t know until you get here. Even starting out 2013, I was racing and doing all of that and trying to be successful and with success comes a brand, comes then that pedestal that you’re on so you kind of have to navigate the way you want to, to be comfortable with that. It’s one of those things that whatever happens you deal with at that time and try to set yourself up for the future.”
Have there been internal discussions about goals at 23XI for this season?
“Obviously, we want to make the Playoffs and compete for a championship. That’s a given. For us, it’s just trying to be consistent. We had a lot of finishes where it was – win at Talladega, I think after that was the Roval next, so you were kind of back-and-forth. It’s smoothing out the graph on the result chart is important to us to bring that graph lower and lower. It’s something we are just going to fight for each and every week – be more competitive, be more consistent to get that speed up and figure out this new car. Everybody is figuring out this new car but making sure we are on the upper tier of those who figure it out first so we can have that advantage. It will take a lot of hard work from myself and my team, but Bootie (Barker, crew chief) and I know that what we have to do is go out and win races and be the best that we can be. Somedays we can go and show up and be a fifth-place car, sometimes we might show up and be a 15th-place car. We just have to take what we can give us and make the most of those days.”
What gives you that confidence that you can do that being a young team?
“I think Bootie (Barker, crew chief) brings a lot out in me that I appreciate him for. He may not even know it, but it’s just having that relationship. It’s not really the crew chief and driver relationship, talking about what springs and shocks we are going to run, what size steering wheel – it’s just about life. He’s a big bourbon collector, so we talk about that. It’s super cool and to have that personal relationship – he’s started me pretty slow with bourbon collecting. It’s ridiculous. It’s fun. It gets you away from the obvious, which is our job here and what we are doing this weekend, so anytime you can break that up and create a sense of a whole life – that trends upwards to me.”
How important is it for you to push into new fan base and how does this clothing line released this morning help with that?
“I think it takes it back – I think there are a lot of African American fans that are looking for like firesuits to wear on street wear. They are all about the fashion – they want the bomber jackets. It takes them back. I remember my sister – she may have had an M&M’s jacket in high school. I was in middle school at the time. I didn’t really follow that trend, because I had my own firesuit to wear on the weekends. That was so big to her and that generation, so to see them where they are at now – they are like we need that stuff back. I’m like if y’all want to rock a racing jacket in the middle of the summer, have at it. We will sell it for you guys. It’s important to them. They are big into fashion. That group is big into fashion. I think that generation, I should say. They want to see that new swag, that vintage hip swag stuff get back on the shelves, so we are doing it with McDonalds. Creating a lot of fun. I actually brought that bomber jacket that I was wearing in the photo shoot this weekend. I might pull it out for race day, because it is going to be a little bit chilly.”
Is it stressful dealing with wedding planning with the start of the season?
“Amanda (Carter) is handling that like a champ. We actually hired an everyday wedding planner that has been rock solid for us, but I’m just looking at the dollar signs continue to go up and up.”
What’s it been like working with Kurt Busch?
“Kurt (Busch) is fun. He has a lot of one-liners that he will throw out that will catch you off guard, but it is fun – it is cool in the heat of battle to try to figure out what it takes for our team to be successful. He’s providing a lot of insight and new perspective on how to look at things in a different angle to make sure we are crossing everything off of the list. I think it’s been good. It’s been fun to have Kurt, so now that we are diving into the start of the season, we are going to push each other to be the best that I can be.”
Can you lean on any of your past experience with this new car to make a run on Sunday?
“We will find out. The aero platform of this new car is a little bit different. There will be a lot to figure out. Hopefully, we will do a lot of that in the Duel to see what we can really do with this car and for what we need to work on when we go to Talladega and back here to Daytona. It’s a world of unknown that takes a lot of digesting and dissecting that makes us better than we were with last year’s car. We had a two-hour long aero meeting before we got on track to try to figure out where to position our car. Things are a little different, but at the end of the day it’s driving racecars. When you’ve got the run, make the most of it and utilize that. Put yourself in the right position.”
Did you feel like you learned enough in yesterday’s practice?
“We have. It was good to get our feet wet with the 23 team and our whole deal there together rolling – get the communication going. With the new car, I didn’t feel like it was too much different. Steering was a little bit different, the feel of the tires was a little bit different, but I think that is going to come for everybody. Just something to get used to. It will be fun.”
What has it been like experiencing that shift in losing rides due sponsorship to having brands want to grow with you?
“It’s never easy. You go through a lot of these times where you lose a ride, and you feel like everything is gone. To me, the on-track performance is what is important, but when the on-track performance is the best at the time – we still lost our ride. We were fourth in the points there – stringing together 36th-place finishes or sixth-place finishes – that was all we had that season. It was a tough time, and now you realize and appreciate where you are at in the sport and then when it kind of comes back around in a different way – it makes you appreciate it even more. It makes you appreciate those hard times because you have to do a lot of learning and self-understanding on what it takes for you to be successful as a human being. Take yourself out of the racing world. To have those hard times, it makes you grow – grow some gray hairs, but teaching a lot about self. A lot about life. Sometimes you may think it is unfair, but life doesn’t owe you anything. You have to go out and get it. You have to work at it each and every day.”
How different is the relationship dynamic between you and Kurt Busch versus your relationship with Denny Hamlin?
“For me, I’m not big on oh, that’s the boss. That’s just my teammate. That’s Denny (Hamlin) and that’s Kurt (Busch). I’m Bubba. We are all the same. Denny has a vision for our team, and we are trying to do our best to exceed that and push the boundaries and the limits each and every weekend. Be competitive and be successful. It’s fun navigating those avenues. You just have to continue to do what you do. You and I are the same. Me and Denny are the same. We are all the same.”
Do you feel any pressure on getting any deals done from the team?
“No, we just keep doing what we do. It seems like deals are coming in and money is flowing. We just have to not change a thing. Do better on the race track. I think the more on-track success, people will latch on more and make those deals longer and spend more money, because the TV side of things are getting their ROI’s and everything back for them. We start this year with a win at the 500, it would be pretty good. Watches will be coming in.”
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