Bubba Wallace may be optimistic these days thanks to the joy his son, Beck Hayden, brought into his life last year, but he never hesitates to credit his wife, Amanda, for the steadiness behind the scenes. Wallace has openly admitted that she 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. Yet, despite the visibility surrounding the 23XI Racing star, their story remains one of the garage’s lesser-known romances.
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Amanda recently opened up about the same during an appearance on Haley Dillon’s podcast, offering a rare look at how her relationship with Wallace first began. Their connection predates racing contracts, national headlines, and Cup Series pressure. It reaches all the way back to high school, long before Wallace ever strapped into a stock car with professional stakes on the line.
“Darryl 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.”
They kept in touch after graduation but went their separate ways until Wallace, then a part-time Xfinity Series driver finishing his final season in the division, invited her to Las Vegas for a race, when the duo reconnected in 2015. Amanda initially declined.
Eventually, she said yes, and that one trip in 2016 changed the trajectory of both 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.
She claimed that he tried to cheat off her during exams because she was “much smarter” than he was, and their friend group often tackled projects together. Those small memories now read like the early chapters of a story neither realized was unfolding.
After six years of dating, Wallace proposed in 2021. They married on New Year’s Eve 2022, sealing a relationship. On September 29, 2024, Amanda gave birth to their first child, Becks Hayden Wallace.
