Bubba Wallace is the face of 23XI Racing which is owned by fellow NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan. And with Jordan helping Wallace become a better driver, it will likely lead to bigger things down the road. PopCulture.com recently caught up with Wallace who talked about the impact Jordan has made in his career.
“I think just seeing his competitive edge, his competitive nature and how he is a person just totally motivates you and moves you to greater heights, to be the best that you can be,” Wallace told PopCulture. “So it’s been a lot of fun. Been a heck of a year, this first year with 23XI, him making history becoming the first majority Black owner in NASCAR was super special. And bringing in his team, being able to attract sponsors, such as Wheaties, has been really cool, so it’s just tying everything in full circle. He’s been on the box for 19 times, record-breaking 19 times, so just honored to be where I’m at today, being able to represent brands like Wheaties and people like MJ. Just got to keep going.”
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As Jordan has helped Wallace out in his NASCAR career, Wallace did the same thing for Jordan this week. Wheaties is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and Jordan is on the cover of the box again. Wallace was spreading the word in Charlotte, North Carolina, a place that Jordan knows well as he’s the owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets.
“MJ’s obviously on the box, the boss, big boss is on the box,” Wallace stated. “Got the gold foil edition, so they went big and there’s no better way to do it than being able to talk about it, raise awareness on it and be sure to tell everybody that you can go ahead and get your box now at your grocery stores.”
Wallace was in Charlotte driving a Wheaties branded Toyota 23XI car on Tuesday, and some of the places Wallace attended were the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. With it being the holiday season, Wallace is all about giving back to the community and making people happy.
“We’ve done a lot with my foundation the last couple weeks, especially around Thanksgiving, giving back to families for Thanksgiving and putting together our toy drive,” Wallace said. “So everybody at Live To Be Different is doing a good job with that, but this ties all in doing the same, giving back, and that’s what it’s all about. When you get to a certain level in your career, and for me, it feels like the awesome and the right thing to do, to be able to have that opportunity. So again, shout out to Wheaties for bringing this opportunity in front of us, and we’re going to have some fun and be able to show off a little bit of gold, a little bit of 100th anniversary, talk about MJ.”
