Exciting times are ahead for 23XI Racing and Bubba Wallace. The United States Air Force will be serving as a primary for the #23 Toyota Camry XSE for select races in the 2024 schedule. Though the idea of fighter jets and speeding cars go hand in hand for the regular race car driver and fans, Bubba Wallace’s association with the Air Force runs a bit deeper.
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Back in 2019, Wallace had been a part of the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Mission 600 program and visited the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina. Wallace had previously flown flight simulators at military bases and been in F-16s at the Shaw Air Force Base, but he’d never been in the cockpit of a F-15E Strike Eagle until then. The ensuing flight at 500 miles per hour took quite the wind out of the racer.
He said referencing the F-15E and the two F-16s he’s been in the past, “I’m whooped. I’m three for three and haven’t thrown up or passed out, but this flight has kicked my butt.” Wallace was joined by Capt. John “Wraith” Tilton on the F-15E and other pilots in his F-16 flights. Having all the work cut out for him and he didn’t have to actually make the jets fly. So there’s little to say that he will be able to pilot a plane on his own.
These visiting experiences came for Wallace courtesy of the Mission 600 program and Richard Petty Motorsports’s partnership with the Air Force. Wallace has since then held an affinity for flying jets and is now reunited with them in his 23XI Racing car.
23XI Racing and the USAF partner for the 2024 NASCAR season
The move that brings Wallace and the USAF together was announced through a team statement on Tuesday. Wallace had captained the colors of the Air Force in five races when he drove for Richard Petty Motorsports back in 2018.
Talking about him getting to do it again, he said, “It’s really special to once again be partnered with the men and women who make up the United States Air Force. I’m looking forward to welcoming them to 23XI and showing them what we’re all about as we work together to try and accomplish the impossible.”
Been holding this video for years! Our relationship has meant a lot to me since the beginning. Let’s go work! https://t.co/pavn3RnTgG pic.twitter.com/KhGkIY6wXT
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) January 9, 2024
The Air Force too, expressed its delight at partnering with Bubba Wallace again. According to the press release, the main reason behind this initiative is to “highlight the excitement of NASCAR as well as the many ways in which careers and roles in the Air Force correspond to those at 23XI and in motorsports.”
The USAF has been a primary sponsor in NASCAR every year since 2001 and will keep its streak alive going into the 2024 season.
