BUBBA WALLACE, POSTER BOY FOR THE ‘NEW’ NASCAR???

In my younger days I was quite the NASCAR fan. For me there was nothing more thrilling than watching Richard Petty and David Pearson in what was yet another of their many classic super speedway duels. And as I look at the NASCAR of today, I can’t help but wonder just what the Hell happened to this once all-American institution. Speaking of Mr. Petty, I can’t believe he put this guy behind the wheel of No. 43. And it was for a number of reasons that I stopped watching. For one thing, back then brand loyalty played into things more than today. I was a big Mopar guy and my then best friend was a big Ford guy. These days all the cars look alike. But I digress.

In getting back to the subject at hand, I guess my biggest bitch about the NASCAR of today is the number of classless individuals taking part as drivers, not the least of which is Bubba Wallace. Now as near as I can figure, out of 197 races over the last seven years, old Bubba has managed to win two, has had 27 top ten finishes and one pole position. Not exactly what one could call an impressive career. Wallace is another prime example that you don’t really need to be good at your job in order to keep it, you just need to be…is black. Nothing more than an affirmative action driver. He earned not a damn thing, he simply played the race card to get a ride.

And it is now Wallace who has a stern message for NASCAR fans who aren’t happy with the sport’s efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. That message, “Deal with it!” That was the message delivered by the driver who has recently become a lightning rod for controversy even long after falsely claiming that someone had fashioned a noose and left it in his garage as a racist warning. I suppose it could all be chalked up to a simple case of paranoia, but clearly, it’s something that goes much deeper than that. Something that, dare I say, might be a more than a little sinister in nature. NASCAR has betrayed its fan base one too many times. We need to let it go.

Wallace, apparently threw out the first pitch at a Cubs game in Chicago this past weekend ahead of the NASCAR Chicago Street Race. Afterwards he spoke to reporters about NASCAR’s efforts to be inclusive and diversify. He also had some rather undiplomatic words for any fans who aren’t receptive to those efforts. Wallace told members of the media that, “There are three types of people: ones that will accept change, the ones that are on the fence about change and the ones that will never change.” He said, “You can never get through the minds of the people that will never change. So we don’t really focus our energy on those people."

Wallace went on to say, “Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t like the change that we’re doing as a sport to tap into different demographics and make the sport more welcome and inclusive. That’s on them. They’ll have to live with that. For us, we continue to march forward.” Sadly he’s likely not wrong in his assessment. NASCAR will undoubtedly continue its diversity efforts regardless of what impact that it has on its fan base. Like the NFL, it has a monopoly on the highest level of competition in its respective sport. Except, in the case of NASCAR, it’s worse since racing fans tend to be only racing fans and don’t follow many other sports.

I think most people are pretty fed up with all of this continuing garbage. Shoving it down our throats will not help their cause. But it is also about division, which is a real problem. People like who they like, regardless of color. And Bubba just isn’t that likable of a guy. And he needs to deal with it. Word of advice, criticizing the fans of your sport is not how you endear yourself to them. Maybe Bubba should worry more about being a good driver instead of trying to be a good race card player. Know your audience Bubba, NASCAR fans aren’t okay with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) drivel nor are they accepting of the critical race theory (CRT) nonsense.

Wallace is a never was! The only way he could succeed at NASCAR would be by way of some sort of affirmative action, one where all other drivers were forced to run with a governor on their cars. I wouldn’t be surprised if there would come a point where Bubba, all in the name of fairness of course, demands that he be given a five lap head start and that he be moved up five spots at the finish line in the name of reparations for all of those southern white guys who built NASCAR based upon competition, not affirmative action. People like Bubba view themselves as being worthy of preferential treatment because of something that ended over 150 years ago.

I believe that when a man is shown how there is a difference between a year-old garage door opener and a brand spanking new noose and still doubles down with pronouncements of his victimhood, he’s lost all credibility. That said, he can once again gain credibility and even popularity. If he could drive, people might cheer for him. If he would stop being racist, people might actually like him. Sadly, I see Bubba as just another race baiter waving the flag of inclusion, and like ‘BO,’ it’s sad these individuals who have gained a position of influence use the position to divide people. Bubba is just another Juicie Smollett wannabe. He’s screwed himself.

NASCAR is the new Bud Light. Without paying fans there is no purse to win, then it all simply goes away. NASCAR is a slowly dying sport. Bubba is just doing his part to finish it off. Sometimes you have to wonder if the Bubba Wallace's of the world aren't actually moles. People inserted into environments meant to do just this; create chaos, inject hate and division all under the guise of fighting against it. Because that's exactly what the end result is. You don’t walk into a group of fans for motorsports then insult them for something or a way of life, that has nothing to do with motorsports. Unless maybe, something or someone else is behind it.