31 is not an age when NASCAR drivers talk about retirement. But Bubba Wallace seems to be mulling. With over eight years of competition in the Cup Series and two wins against his name, Wallace still has a few years to rack up some victories and cement a legacy for himself in the sport. However, the 23XI Racing driver does not want to linger around if he can’t be competitive.
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Bubba’s thoughts on retirement are uncannily similar to his team owner, Denny Hamlin’s. In racing, consistent performance matters, and Wallace wants to be objective while evaluating where he stands in comparison to his rivals.
Wallace had managed to enter the 2023 playoffs based on points. However, last season, he failed to qualify for the playoffs and was unable to bag any wins despite coming close on several occasions. The lack of wins might be playing in the driver’s mind when he spoke about quitting.
“I think there comes a point where if you feel like your competitiveness starts to fall then it’s like, okay you need to look yourself in the mirror that next season that comes up and be like this could be your last,” explained Wallace in an interview with Rubbin’ is Racing.
“I would honestly say I’m not the one to just ride around for a paycheck you know I still want to be competitive. And so when that opportunity runs out then that’ll be it for me,” he added.
Wallace’s net worth of $4 million may not place him among the top earners in the racing world. Still, he chose not to cite money as a factor that would make him continue racing. Much like what Hamlin said when the same question was posed to him last year.
“The moment I feel like I can’t win at every track, I’ll probably get out whenever that might be. But I just feel like I’m still on top of things,” Hamlin had stated.
Hamlin has had a much more successful career than Wallace. Over his two-decade in NASCAR, the 44-year-old has regularly finished in the top 10 in the final driver standings. Although a Cup championship has eluded him, his performance remains consistent.
Even in the season opener at the Daytona 500 last weekend, Hamlin was contending for his fourth victory at the famed race when he was unintentionally caught in a mishap initiated by Joey Logano.
Since 2019, Hamlin has won at least two races every season. The stability with which he has performed is evident despite NASCAR switching to Next Gen cars, a change that has challenged many seasoned drivers. Wallace would like to emulate Hamlin’s consistency before leaving the sport altogether, even though he has made some post-retirement plans too.
Is Wallace following in the footsteps of Hamlin?
Wallace, like his boss at 23XI Racing, is considering launching his podcast. Although he is still undecided about the podcast’s theme, he is certain it won’t center around racing, unlike Hamlin.
Instead, he’s passionate about exploring the world of bourbon. However, Wallace’s aspirations don’t stop at podcasting; he also aims to establish his own multimedia production company.
“Bigger picture, I do want to start my production company one day and start doing a lot of these things that I’m a part of,” said Wallace.
On the race track though, Bubba would feel the pressure mount, especially since his teammate Tyler Reddick reached the Championship 4 last year. It will be intriguing to see how Wallace navigates this season, especially since he spoke of retirement right at the start itself.
