Bubba Wallace is on cloud nine these days thanks to the joy his son, Beck Hayden, brought into his life last year. It is the family that keeps Wallace going, and he never hesitates to credit his wife, Amanda, for steadying things behind the scenes.
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Wallace has often admitted that Amanda is the one who witnesses the moments few ever see: The emotional dips, the anxiety spikes, the private unraveling that comes with life in NASCAR’s spotlight.
However, despite the visibility surrounding the 23XI Racing star, their love story remains one of the NASCAR garage’s lesser-known romances. Amanda recently opened up about her relationship with Wallace during an appearance on Haley Dillon’s podcast, offering a rare look at where it all began.
Their connection predates racing contracts, national headlines, and Cup Series pressure. It began way back in high school, long before Wallace ever strapped into a stock car with professional stakes on the line.
“Darryl [Wallace] and I actually went to high school together… Not many people know that. I was a very studious student, and so he was always trying to be like, ‘Give me the answers, like whatever, whatever.’ And I’m like, ‘No, I don’t want to get caught.’ He had invited me out to Vegas for a race. It was his last season of Xfinity, and he was a part-time Xfinity driver,” said Amanda.
Though the two kept in touch after graduating from high school, they went their separate ways. This was until 2015, when Wallace, then a part-time Xfinity Series driver, was finishing his final season in the division. He invited her to Las Vegas for a race. Amanda initially declined.
Eventually, she said yes, and that one trip changed the trajectory of their lives. They started dating in Vegas, a city that remains their sentimental touchpoint. But their bond traces back much further, to 2009.
Bubba once told People magazine that Amanda thought he was “nice but not attractive” in high school, while he remembered being struck by how beautiful she was. Amanda laughed as she recalled those classroom days, especially Spanish class, where they often sat near each other.
Amanda claimed that he tried to cheat off her during exams because she was “much smarter” than he was. And their friends group often tackled projects together. Those small memories now read like the early chapters of a story that back then they never realized was leading to a life partnership.
After six years of dating, Wallace proposed in 2021. They married on New Year’s Eve 2022. On September 29, 2024, Amanda gave birth to their first child, Becks Hayden Wallace.
