Bubba Bizarrely Gets No Punishment for Obscene Gesture to NASCAR Fans

Bubba Wallace is shockingly facing no repercussions from NASCAR for his obscene, on-air gesture when crowds booed him after he came in second in a recent race.

According to a Fox News report, Wallace will not face reprimand for flipping his middle finger to the camera after his second-place finish. Fox says that NASCAR believes that Wallace was simply making the gesture to a friend, and while it may be offensive, NASCAR thinks that there is no ill intent behind the move. Many fans were upset following the interview, which will likely only worsen the chorus of boos that Wallace faces at most races.

Bubba Wallace just flipped off everyone 😒 #bubbawallace #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/aJ1mmkbny7

— Jarrod Kendall (@JarrodKendall_) May 22, 2023

Fans on Twitter have been outspoken about their dislike of Bubba, with one saying, “This is just one of the reason he’s disliked, booed and run of the track. No one respects him and this shows his lack of that! I wouldn’t hire him to drive a go kart!”

Another said, “Bubba Wallace being all class again. NOT! What a jack leg. He knew he was on camera with Fox too.”

This was not the only controversy that Wallace and his team faced that evening. After the race, it was revealed that his communication channel with his team may have been hacked by a heckling fan. According to Fox News, NASCAR is investigating the incident:

NASCAR is investigating an incident involving Bubba Wallace from last weekend’s All-Star race when an unidentified person hacked his team’s radio and shouted a derogatory statement, a spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. 

NASCAR spokesman Mike Forde told The Associated Press that an investigation into the incident was opened after reports revealed that someone outside the 23XI Racing team gained access to the radio. 

“Go back to where you came from you a–hole,” the person said, according to Motorsport.com. “You’re not wanted in NASCAR.” 

Forde also when on to say, “We certainly take that seriously, no doubt about that. But we can’t have fans interfering with team radio and potential competition implications.”

Autoweek noted in an early January of 2023 article on Bubba that his NASCAR career has been marked by significant controversy, saying:

Wallace also has been part of several controversial incidents during his career. On the track, he’s been involved in several crashes, most recently coming in 2022 when he intentionally wrecked Kyle Larson in the fall playoff race at Las Vegas (and collected Christopher Bell’s car, causing severe damage to it). As if all that wasn’t bad enough, Wallace shoved Larson during the caution, leading NASCAR to suspend Wallace for one race (many observers felt the move by Wallace was so egregious that he should have been parked for the remainder of the season, but that did not occur).

In 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, Wallace was involved in two instances that drew national attention to both him and NASCAR. First was Wallace’s activism in support of Black Lives Matter as well as calls for social justice and police accountability after the death of Floyd.