Sunday afternoon was expected to have two talking points at Martinsville Speedway. The first was the most obvious – who goes through to the grid for next week’s Championship 4 race in Phoenix. The other was the return of Bubba Wallace from his one-race suspension.
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Most boos in driver intros: Bubba Wallace, and it wasn’t very close (way more than Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs).
Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace were involved in a highly publicized incident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Wallace had seemingly wrecked Larson in retaliation, after what he thought was an attempt to push him into the walls from Larson. Resultantly both drivers spun out of the race but Wallace didn’t stop there.
He got up close and personal and made a few quick swings at his rival before they were separated by the personnel around them. Consequently, he was handed a one-race suspension which saw him sit out the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway; Larson on the other hand won the race.
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LAS VEGAS, NV – OCTOBER 16: Bubba Wallace (#45 23XI Racing MoneyLion Toyota) has an altercation with Kyle Larson (#5 Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet) after Wallace collided into Larson during the South Point 400 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race on October 16, 2022, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Jeff Speer/LVMS/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
As Bubba made his return at Martinsville Speedway, there were loud and clear boos of disapproval from the 45,000-odd fans present. Jeff Gluck, The Athletics’ motorsports journalist, posted a video of Bubba Wallace’s reception at Martinsville on his Twitter account. He wrote alongside “Most boos in driver intros: Bubba Wallace, and it wasn’t very close (way more than Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs).”
While boos for the 29-year-old driver are not a new thing, it is believed that a number of those could be for him flying off the handle in Las Vegas. His behavior was obviously unacceptable but so is this kind of reaction.
NASCAR Twitter has its take on the boos for Bubba Wallace
Following Jeff Gluck’s post, a number of keen watchers of the sport had their take on the incident. The majority opinion on the microblogging website seems to be against Bubba Wallace and for the booing.
You know, Bubba is a hell of a driver but…he could have really hurt Kyle Larson. Didn’t even stop to think of Larson could have had an injury before throwing punches!
Most boos in driver intros: Bubba Wallace, and it wasn’t very close (way more than Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs).
@BubbaWallace, dude, you earned it.
Despite @TyGibbs best efforts, @BubbaWallace is still the most hated guy in @NASCAR
Most boos in driver intros: Bubba Wallace, and it wasn’t very close (way more than Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs).
Wish I was there to Boo him too
Most boos in driver intros: Bubba Wallace, and it wasn’t very close (way more than Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs).
Gotta' love it!
Most boos in driver intros: Bubba Wallace, and it wasn’t very close (way more than Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs).
Good riddance 👏
Most boos in driver intros: Bubba Wallace, and it wasn’t very close (way more than Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs).
Love to see it.
Most boos in driver intros: Bubba Wallace, and it wasn’t very close (way more than Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs).
I love it! Keep booing cry babies! LFG @BubbaWallace ‼️
Most boos in driver intros: Bubba Wallace, and it wasn’t very close (way more than Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs).
Wow 🤫🖕🏽 Fuck off
Most boos in driver intros: Bubba Wallace, and it wasn’t very close (way more than Kyle Busch and Ty Gibbs).
There was a handful who tried to defend the driver.
Remember what state you are in
Really no reason to hate the guy.
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In Bubba’s case, there always will be the race angle at play – some of the boos might have been for that reason. But it would be hard to ignore Las Vegas’ effect on fans.