Bubba Wallace says NASCAR's dress code turns drivers into a sea of "black polo" clones

Bubba Wallace believes that NASCAR’s off-track dress rules tend to push drivers into wearing identical team polos, which can mask their personality. The 23XI Racing driver made the comments while discussing his brand and how he likes to present himself.

NASCAR expects drivers to look professional at official events in team polos, sponsored gear, or business casual, depending on the setting. Certain casual wear is discouraged in hospitality and press areas. Wallace says that the standard has the unintended result of making everyone look similar. To Yes Network, he said:

"For me, I just want to be myself... I didn't have a stylist. My stylist is myself, so I dress myself. I feel like you can kind of see people's personalities from, how they dress. Our sport, as a whole, has I feel like a problem of, it goes back to sponsorship stuff, though. Everyone has to be in a black polo and look the same, just different... manufacturer logos, different team logos on there."

Sponsors and team contracts nudge everyone into similar outfits, so personality tends to get filtered out. When asked how to break the mold, Bubba Wallace added:

"You just show up and not put the polo on, and you just say, 'Hey, here we are'. You see me, this is it, and it's okay. For the people watching back at the shop, it's okay. It's totally okay."

Wallace stressed that he’s comfortable being visible and outspoken. He dresses how he wants and accepts the pushback that sometimes follows.

Bubba Wallace and MC Hammer at the driver's meeting at Sonoma Raceway. Source: Getty

That attitude connects to his public role beyond wardrobe. Wallace has always been vocal in the garage, like pushing NASCAR to ban the confederate flag at events and speaking out on broader diversity issues. It has won him praise in some quarters and criticism in others.

The dress-code debate, for him, is another example of how teams, sponsors, and tradition can limit a driver’s personal brand.

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Bubba Wallace on how NASCAR can grow: "We are very inside of our own four walls"

2024 Daytona 500 Grand Marshal Dwayne Johnson (R) and Bubba Wallace. Source: Getty

NASCAR viewership is constantly going down, and questions arise about how the series can expand beyond its traditional base. The sport does not carry the same global recognition as Formula 1, where drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are household names.

In contrast, Bubba Wallace acknowledged how NASCAR’s biggest names might barely draw attention even in New York. When asked what needs to happen to take NASCAR to the next level, Wallace spoke at length with Jeff Gluck during a 12 Questions segment. In his words:

"We are very inside of our own four walls, and that’s it. I’m not sure on that, because you can take Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen and drop them anywhere in the world and people go crazy, right? You drop myself or Chase Elliott or Ryan Blaney in London and no one knows who we are. You drop us in New York City and maybe we get one or two people, right?

He added:

Obviously, a lot of people wish it was back to how it was in the heyday. But no sporting league, no sanctioning body, is the way it was 15 or 20 years ago. Everything has evolved and it’s changed. So I don’t know what the magic answer is to that."

Wallace added that NASCAR needs recognizable global stars, and those stars are built by winning and by crossover visibility. He used Kyle Larson as an example of someone who can pull certain audiences but noted that even he doesn’t have automatic mainstream recognition outside racing circles. Wallace argued the sport must find ways to broaden its reach while also letting personalities show.

Bubba Wallace thinks NASCAR will grow when drivers become cultural figures, not just athletes who wear identical polos. Whether NASCAR agrees or adjusts its policy remains to be seen, but distinct stars equal a bigger, less insular fanbase.