“You Know How You Go to a Bar..” – Hilarious Bubba Wallace Story Surfaces When the 23XI Racing Driver Massacred His “Very Expensive Lexus Tire”

Srijan Mandal | 08/06/2023
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Bubba Wallace is often perceived as a figure of jest by the ones surrounding him. Mostly underpinned by his sharp wit and knack for humor. However, in a twist of irony, there have been a few instances when he inadvertently became the focal point of the humor himself. Consider the story one of Wallace’s friends recently revealed about him.

The story was shared by his friend, Graham Smith, who also happenes to be the VP of Business Operations at US Legend Cars International. It was about a time when Wallace, a proud owner of a Lexus car and managed to massacre his “expensive” tires after his friend forgot to inform him about a key piece of information about the track they went to do a few hot laps on.

The incident had apparently taken place in Charlotte, though, before the Roval had come into existence in the NASCAR Cup Series. In fact, it’s quite possible that Wallace may have been possibly the first NASCAR driver to have driven on the ROVAL layout unknowingly.

Legends Car VP shares a hilarious Bubba Wallace story

Wallace’s friend narrated this story while speaking on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. A short clip of this hilarious ordeal was later shared on social media for the fans to relish.

Graham Smith, narrated, “Bubba texted me at one point and we had talked about, about going on the road before the ROVAL was even a thing. What I thought like, you know how you go to a bar every once in a while and you say, like, somebody’s like, ‘Oh, we should hang out sometime…’ It never happens. That’s kind of what I thought when we were just becoming friends.”

He continued, “And sure enough, I’m at lunch, and my phone buzzes and it’s Bubba, and he goes ‘Hey I’m in the area, you wanna hit the track.’ And I was like, I’m not gonna pass up this opportunity this is gonna be a lot of fun. We go out there and we start gunning it. And I forgot to tell Bubba the rumble strips were not drilled into the track yet. So Bubba, being a professional racecar driver, goes and hits the rumble strip and slices his… I can only assume very expensive Lexus tire, clean open.”

Bubba Wallace’s ROVAL performances over the years

The Charlotte Motor Speedway has played host to the Cup Series race all the way since the 60s. However, it was only since the 2018 season did we see the addition of the inner road course layout paired with the regular oval, hence making it the ROVAL.

Intriguingly, while Wallace boasts two victories at the Cup Series level, but neither of those had anything to do with the ROVAL. Having said that, his performance at this specific track has shown a consistent, upward trajectory over time. A case could indeed be made that his race finishes have been improving annually. As of the previous year, he successfully broke into the top 10, securing a commendable 7th-place finish.

Observing his steady ascent with each passing season, especially in the last few weeks of this current one, one can’t help but speculate about his potential to target the top row in the near future. Admittedly, his driving prowess is most notable on Superspeedways.

However, there’s no harm in entertaining the possibility of Wallace securing a first-row spot at the ROVAL someday, is there? Perhaps he might end up doing it this year.

Post Edited By: Shaharyar

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Srijan Mandal

Srijan Mandal is the Lead NASCAR Editor and Strategist at The Sportsrush with a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of motorsports. With several thousand articles under his belt over the years, he has established himself as a leading authority on all things racing. His passion for motorsports started at a young age, and he has dedicated his career to covering the sport in all its forms. He is an expert in various disciplines, including stock car racing, American motorsports, Formula 1, IndyCar, NHRA, MotoGP, WRC, WEC, and several more. But Srijan's love for racing goes beyond his writing. He actively competes in professional open-wheel sim racing, using '88' as his racing number. While he mostly participates in GT Endurance classes, he also ventures into Stock Car racing from time to time. In case, you wish to contact Srijan, kindly send an email to him at [email protected] or just DM him on Twitter.