Bubba Wallace is the toast of NASCAR after that crucial victory in Indianapolis on Sunday, but not everybody is lining up to congratulate him.
The 31-year-old from Mobile, Alabama had been winless for three years and 100 Cup Series races until he just outlasted Kyle Larson in a breathless finish to the Brickyard 400.
It was a famous win for Wallace, who not only snapped that miserable losing run, but also nailed down a place in the season-ending Cup Series playoffs in the process.
Afterwards the scene in Indy was one of wild celebration for the 23XI Racing team, with a party even team owner Michael Jordan would be proud of. Featuring a shirtless Wallace center stage.
Most folks seem delighted for Bubba after he finally silenced all of those critics, but one man who won’t be congratulating him anytime soon is his old boss Richard Petty.
Wallace, remember, spent four seasons driving for Richard Petty Motorsports between 2017-2020 – failing to register a Cup series victory during that period.
So clearly the two had a long relationship of working together, but that doesn’t mean the NASCAR legend that is Petty will be calling up Bubba to give him a big, fat ‘well done’ for winning in Indy.
Richard Petty on Wallace win
The 88-year-old was asked whether he’d be congratulating Wallace by a fan during a podcast Q and A, and the answer was brutally honest.
“No, I never congratulate anybody, you know. Even MY drivers and stuff. You put ‘em out there, you expect ‘em to win the race.”
Despite that take, Petty did have to (almost) take his hat off to Wallace for running strong, clean race all day long.
“They ran good all day. He was right up front, he didn’t cause any confusion, didn’t really have to race a whole lot with anybody – he just run, run, run. And then the way they made their pitstop, everything worked out good.
“But then when it came down to the green/white/checkered deals, he was the fastest car – he was faster than the 5 car, the 11 car.”
