Bubba Wallace Joins ‘I Am Athlete’ Podcast, Discusses Making Impact on NASCAR

NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace became a household name during the 2020 season after pushing for the Confederate flag ban. He brought more attention to the long-running sport and attracted more fans. Now he has sat down to discuss making a massive impact on the sport and how his perspective changed over the years.

Wallace sat down with former NFL players Brandon Marshall, Fred Taylor, Chad Johnson, and Channing Crowder during a recent episode of the I AM ATHLETE podcast. The conversation was over an hour long and alternated cleanly between serious discussions and hysterical moments. As an example, Crowder referred to Wallace as the “Arthur Ashe of NASCAR” before saying that stock car drivers aren’t athletes. The 23XI Racing driver responded by explaining that he could play wide receiver but Crowder could not control a race car going 185 mph mere inches from the wall.

Of course, the conversation covered the FBI investigation into Wallace’s garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway and whether the rope pull had intentionally been fashioned into a noose. Wallace laid out the entire scenario and discussed how he learned about the rope pull, as well as how people came after him and began calling him “Bubba Smollett.“

“People think that I’m behind it all,” Wallace explained during the discussion, referencing the barrage of comments about him “faking” the noose. “We’re not allowed in the garage.” He then revealed that he didn’t know that the entire sport would unite in a show of support prior to the Geico 500. He knew that Jimmie Johnson and the other drivers would stand with him, but he didn’t realize that all of the pit crews and officials would join.

In addition to covering serious topics, such as changing the sport of stock car racing, Wallace also bonded with Johnson for a unique reason. He expressed his adoration of McDonald’s food and proclaimed that he eats at the fast-food restaurant every single day. Johnson is a diehard McDonald’s fan and has long talked about how he can remain in tip-top shape while still eating at the same restaurant.

Wallace explained his McDonald’s enjoyment by saying that nutrition plays a “very small part” in how professional athletes perform. He then said that the people telling him and other athletes how to eat are people that “are not in shape.” Once again, his comment prompted an excited outburst from Johnson.

“Listen, you motherf—er, I love you,” Johnson said as he walked across the room. “I love you. You get where I’m going with it? I’m trying not to say the wrong thing because I don’t want to offend anybody, but the people [are] telling Brandon what to eat to perform up here when they’ve never even f—ing been there.”