“I Kind of Really Relate:” Dale Jr Opens Up About Bubba Wallace’s Mental Health Struggles

“I’ve never looked at it as a sign of weakness,” said Bubba Wallace, opening up about dealing with depression with Dale Earnhardt Jr. a few years ago. The 23XI Racing driver has faced his fair share of struggles both on and off the track in recent years. While he’s quite a happy-go-lucky and jovial personality to be around, the Alabama-native has also had to deal with mental health challenges, and has been pretty upfront about it. “I’m depressed, it’s as simple as that,” he said on the Dale Jr. Download podcast back in the day. That’s as forthcoming as one can be.

Dale Jr., who has faced plenty of challenges over the years, could relate to Wallace’s struggles. Now, with the No. 23 Toyota driver finally breaking his 100-race winless streak, Junior took a trip down memory lane, recalling how far Wallace has come since that 2019 conversation about his depression.

Dale Jr. sheds light on Wallace’s struggles

It’s been quite a journey for Bubba Wallace. From starting off in the Bandolero and Legends car racing series to driving Late Models and eventually moving onto the NASCAR world, the Alabama-native has been somewhat of a trailblazer in the stock car racing world. But he has also experienced his fair share of challenges, like the noose being placed in his stall at Talladega Superspeedway back in 2020 and the frequent backlash from fans on tracks and social media.

But drowning out the noise hasn’t been easy. Far from it. And Dale Earnhardt Jr. can relate to how such instances can affect a racer mentally. The veteran said on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, “I don’t want to elaborate or make assumptions, but there’s a lot of, you know, there’s a lot of Bubba comments and his own explanation and his own description of some of the challenges that he was facing mentally and I kind of really relate to that. And he came on our show years ago and openly talked about it and it was nice that he did that.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been through his share of struggles over the years. The veteran racer suffered from 20-25 concussions during his decades-long racing career, forcing him to prematurely retire from NASCAR at the end of the 2017 season. While the physical effects of the injuries weighed heavily on the racer, it was the after-effects, forcing him to close the curtains on his illustrious career, that also deeply impacted him mentally, especially in its later years.

Being the Intimidator’s son, and having to deal with the weight of those expectations also took a toll on Junior, which may go on to explain why he could relate to Bubba Wallace’s struggles. However, for a public personality like the 23XI Racing driver to discuss what has somewhat been a taboo subject was a pretty bold decision, but one he stood by. He said, “It’s helped so many people. And I’m like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know it was such a big deal.’ I was just asked what was going on, and I told them because I’m an open book.”

Living life in the fast lane isn’t easy, especially for a black driver trying to shake things up in a predominantly white sport. “For the last four or five years, people have been wanting me out of the sport, right?” Wallace has said in the past. And while he has powered through the hate and adversity, it has taken a toll after being weighed down by the pressure of having to prove himself in the Cup Series. But the win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway came at just the right time.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. offers valuable advice

It was a well deserved win for Bubba Wallace, who broke his longstanding winless streak at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 23XI Racing driver led 30 laps, battled through a scary late caution and kept Kyle Larson at bay in two overtime restarts to secure the triumph. It was an emotional result for the No. 23 driver at a time when his team lost their charters and were forced to run in the open category.

After the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. issued some words of wisdom to Wallace, saying, “I want to give you a piece of advice, you don’t really need any, but, this is the best advice that I think I got in the moments like this. Enjoy every second of this. All the media you’re going to do after this, all the other moments you’re going to have. Whether it’s the party tonight…enjoy it. Soak it all in. You never do this again, and also you’re locked into the playoffs, all that pressure rolls off your back. I know what that feels like. So just take it all in, enjoy it man.”

That’s exactly what Bubba Wallace did, if his social media posts are anything to go by. The 31-year-old was seen partying with friends after the race ended, and soaked in the moment just as Dale Earnhardt Jr. suggested. The veteran racer also said, “You can prepare for the next one in a day or two. But give yourself about 24, 48 hours to have some fun.” Now, he’ll shift his attention to Iowa Speedway, hoping to carry forward the momentum to secure back-to-back wins.