Earlier today, NASCAR phenom and recent 23XI signee Bubba Wallace sent some picture updates leading up to the Daytona 500 this weekend. This week, the drivers have been gearing up for the big race and soaking up the sun in Daytona. Wallace will debut his brand new number 23 car in the fourth spot on the grid. His photos make it seem that he and his team are ready to go.
“Today was a good day,” Bubba Wallace said in his Tweet. The pictures show Wallace, his car, and his team from various angles as they prepare for Sunday. Doordash looks to be his main sponsor in the number 23 car. He will drive a souped-up Toyota with red and white paint.
Bubba Wallace Joins Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s New Team
Back in October of 2020, Bubba Wallace parted ways with his previous racing team to join up with a few former legends. NBA legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR legend Denny Hamlin teamed up to create the 23XI racing team. They selected Wallace as their first driver and revealed the brand new number 23 car soon after. Wallace will drive the car with Michael Jordan’s previous NBA number on the side.
Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s choice to sign Bubba Wallace seemed like a no brainer to most NASCAR fans. It is no secret that NASCAR had lacked diversity until Bubba Wallace’s rise to prominence last season. Michael Jordan, who had always loved racing, wanted to become the first black majority owner of a NASCAR racing team. Hamlin got behind his cause and the two made it happen.
Given Bubba Wallace’s incredible work in the field of social justice in NASCAR, his signing with Jordan’s team just made sense. The racing team released a statement about their decision in the fall around when it happened.
“Bubba Wallace burst onto the national spotlight in 2020 as the social justice movement swept across America and Bubba took a stand in his sport,” the statement read. “Bubba has been breaking barriers since he entered the sport of NASCAR, becoming the first African-American driver in several decades to win a national series race and be a full-time driver in the premier NASCAR Cup Series. In 2021 Bubba will take the wheel of the No. 23 car.”
Bubba Gives his Thoughts
Bubba Wallace also shared his own thoughts on joining the legendary team. He talked about his mindset during an interview with Shannon Sharpe on his show Club Shay Shay.
“My mentality changed after I watched The Last Dance,” Bubba Wallace told Shannon Sharpe about the docu-series surrounding Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls. “I said ‘okay, alright, I see what I need to be like as an athlete. If I want to reach these goals, I need to be like this as an athlete. There is a lot of pressure, but after the year we had in 2020, I keep telling them pressure is nothing but a thing now.”
