by Jim Clayburn | RNN
Numerous NASCAR fans called on McDonald’s to drop their sponsorship of Bubba Wallace after he not only retaliated on the race track against Kyle Larson, but then proceeded to shove him after the two exited their vehicles.
The movement started a few weeks after the October incident, and has only accelerated in recent months as Wallace has continued his arrogant behavior and support for BLM and made several racially-divisive statements.
During the race, Larson had a big run going into Turn three and dove to the inside of both Wallace and Harvick. He was able to clear Harvick, but he then chased his car up the race track. However, he never made contact with Wallace.
Nevertheless, with Larson drifting up the track, Wallace was running out of room and eventually slammed hard into the outside wall coming out of turn four. After bouncing off the wall, he came down and bounced off Larson’s car.
After the contact, Larson dove down towards the infield and Wallace appears to chase him down the track and nails Larson’s car in the rear quarter panel sending him spinning up the track and into the outside wall. Wallace would also spin up the track and make hard contact with the outside wall.
Following the wreck, Wallace exited his vehicle and walked towards Larson’s car. Upon arriving at Larson’s car, Wallace then began shoving Larson who never really fought back, but only attempted to keep Wallace at bay by extending his arms and giving him a slight shove back.
Wallace continued to shove Larson until a track official eventually broke the two up.
Fans were outraged at Wallace’s actions — but perhaps even nmore outraged by NASCAR’s mild punishment against him.
NASCAR suspended Wallace for just the upcoming race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. He only received the suspension and was not fined or docked any points.
As we previously reported, Kyle Petty, former NASCAR Cup Series driver and current analyst for NBC Sports (and son of racing legend Richard Petty) said that Wallace should have been suspended for the rest of the year.
Many fans agree with Petty, but went further, calling on Wallace’s main sponsor — McDonalds — to dump Wallace for this, as well as many prior offenses and outrages.
One user on Twitter wrote, “bubba wallace not only wrecked larson at high speed in a car with a questionable safety record, but he then proceeded to try and fight him.”
The user then questioned, “wonder how mcdonald’s and his other sponsors feel right now?”
Another user wrote, “I do not see how anyone could justify Bubba Wallace‘s actions. Just purely unacceptable. He needs to be suspended. McDonald’s needs to asses whether or not he is the right person to represent their brand in NASCAR. I used to fully support Bubba, I can not after witnessing that.”
Hundreds of accounts on social media called out Wallace’s top sponsor, McDonald’s, and challenged the fast food company to reconsider its decision to sponsor him.
Wallace’s outburst sparked calls for him to be suspended or face potential criminal charges.
“Bubba Wallace could’ve killed someone with this stunt,” Rebel News writer Ian Miles Cheong tweeted. “He needs to be removed from the sport.”
Thousands of NASCAR fans took to Twitter and other social media to echo these views:
Wallace is one of the least popular drivers in the sport, with much of the disdain from fan’s stemming from Wallace accusing them of racism after he pushed the false claim that someone left a noose on his car at Talladega. In actuality it was a garage door pull.
He called the door pull a “despicable act of racism and hatred.” He posted to Twitter, “Today’s despicable act of racism and hatred leaves me incredibly saddened and serves as a painful reminder of how much further we have to go as a society and how persistent we must be in the fight against racism.”
“Over the last several weeks, I have been overwhelmed by the support from people across the NASCAR industry including other drivers and team members in the garage. Together, our sport has made a commitment to driving real change and championing a community that is accepting and welcoming of everyone. Nothing is more important and we will not be deterred by the reprehensible actions of those who seek to spread hate,” he said.
He concluded, “As my mother told me today, ‘They are just trying to scare you.’ This will not break me, I will not give in nor will I back down. I will continue to proudly stand for what I believe in.”
When the claim was disproven, Wallace didn’t apologize for accusing fans of racism, he doubled down on his accusations.
Following an investigation into NASCAR and Wallace’s claims, the FBI concluded “after a thorough review of the facts and evidence surrounding this event, we have concluded that no federal crime was committed.”
They also detailed, “The FBI learned that garage number 4, where the noose was found, was assigned to Bubba Wallace last week. The investigation also revealed evidence, including authentic video confirmed by NASCAR, that the noose found in garage number 4 was in that garage as early as October 2019.”
“Although the noose is now known to have been in garage number 4 in 2019, nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned to garage number 4 last week,” they noted.
The noose was anything but a noose, it was a door pull. FBI spokesman Paul Daymond told CNN, “It’s my understanding that the rope was fashioned into a noose knot and used as a door pull.”
After the FBI concluded no crime was committed, Wallace embraced the hoax telling CNN’s Don Lemon, “I’m pissed. I’m mad because people are trying to test my character and the person that I am and my integrity. They’re not stealing that away from me, but they’re just trying to test it.”
He later told Lemon, “It was a noose. Whether tied in 2019 or whatever, it was a noose. So, it wasn’t directed at me but somebody tied a noose. That’s what I’m saying.”
Wallace has never apologized for his involvement in bracing the noose hoax. However, he has been rewarded for it. His off track activity was one of the key accomplishments touted as part of his contract extension announcement made by 23XI Racing earlier this year.
A press release detailed, “In addition to his on-track accomplishments, Wallace has also been involved in various diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts to expand the NASCAR industry and fan base.”
“Wallace has worked on initiatives such as the Dr Pepper 23XI Speed Institute Tuition Program, Embrace Home Loans’ Wider Path Home/23XI Racing Down Payment Assistance Grant and Bubba’s Block Party, which aims to bring the excitement of NASCAR to a younger, more diverse audience,” the press release added.
What do you make of these fans calling for McDonald’s to end their sponsorship deal with Wallace? Do you think people will boycott McDonald’s if they don’t?
NASCAR doesn’t have the courage to handle this.
He’s distracting from the sport… but macdonalds cant drop him even if they wanted to for fear of retribution from the real racists.
And here we are. The one last decent sport that hasnt been destroyed by the blacks is now being destroyed by the blacks. IM so sick of this racist woke bullshit. I swear, they destroy everything they touch. Prove me wrong. Show me a well to do rich black neighborhood with low crime and drugs. I’ll wait…………………..