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Bubba Wallace Jr. has certainly embraced the role of being one of the few characters on the NASCAR Cup Series field that fans can never get enough of. Be it for positive or negative reasons, characters such as Kyle Busch in the past have given fans a cause to root for, and Wallace Jr. seems to be headed in the same direction.
The 23XI Racing driver, who clinched his second career victory last year by driving the #45 Toyota Camry TRD at Kansas Speedway, is one figure that usually divides fans into his supporters and non-supporters. The Mobile, Alabama native is also often referred to as an emotional person, as evidenced by his reaction to Kyle Larson running into him at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last year, and the brawl that ensued after the on-track incident.
Being the sole African-American on the grid, Bubba Wallace Jr. also made waves in the sport in 2020 after he was suspected of racial abuse during a time when the world fought adversities such as the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the uproar of the Black Lives Matter campaign.
It was during this time that Dustin Skinner, son of former NASCAR driver Mike Skinner, commented on the alleged noose found in Wallace Jr.'s pit box at Talladega Superspeedway. The Late Model Crew Chief went onto Facebook to react to the incident and wrote:
"My hat is off to who put the noose at his car. I wish they would of (sic) tied (the noose) to (Wallace) and drug him around the pits because he has single handedly destroyed what I grew up watching and cared about for 30 years now."
Skinner's racial remarks aimed at Bubba Wallace Jr. and his campaign to ban the Confederate Flag from the sport were not well received, to say the least.
Dustin Skinner later issued an apology to Bubba Wallace Jr.
In the aftermath of his initial post on Facebook, Dustin Skinner realized his wrongdoing and issued an apology to Bubba Wallace Jr. He wrote:
"This was not about race at all, it was stupidly foolish for me to say what I said and I truly regret every bit of it, if there was a way to take last night back I would. All I can do is say I'm sorry I love everyone and wish the world to pull back together and us all find a positive way to agree or disagree!"
Dustin Skinner's father, Mike Skinner, also issued a statement regarding the debacle on his official Twitter handle, distancing himself from the views of his son.
Meanwhile, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off next month as the sport heads to the LA Coliseum for the Busch Light Clash.
