One thing that never fails the social media litmus test: post anything about Bubba Wallace and engagement will follow. Not all posts are negative; the 23XI driver has plenty of fans.
There is, however, plenty of negativity targeted at Wallace, fairly or unfairly for on-track performance, but there’s a high percentage of those posts that have nothing to do with Wallace’s ability as a driver.
That’s the nature of social media in 2026. People who are quiet as a church mouse without their phone in hand or keyboard in front of them are emboldened to opine with both good and bad responses. And when you’re a NASCAR Cup Series driver, especially a polarizing one like Wallace, you have to know it comes with the territory.
Bubba Wallace disconnects from social media
At Richmond on Friday ahead of Saturday night’s Cook Out 400, Wallace revealed that the negativity drove him away from social media for a time this season. Four months, to be more precise.
“I was off social media for probably the first four months of the season, maybe longer,” said Wallace.
He did come back, however. Wallace got bored with the same few apps on his phone, and he was curious to see what his friends were doing.
He is staying away from his professional pages, 23XI pages, and even fan pages/accounts dedicated to him and his team. It’s there that toxicity is at its highest.
“You can only go through the banking app and photos app so many times where you want to see what your friends are doing.
“So yeah, I got back on there, but no, I’ve genuinely disconnected from my professional page for sure.”
‘Has anybody ever climbed in a race car’
Regardless, Wallace encounters the trolls on social, no matter how hard he tries not to. He asked himself one simple question.
“I mean yeah, it’s just when you sit there and you read that stuff and you tell yourself… ‘Has anybody ever climbed in a race car?’
“So the words really don’t matter. But that’s not going to stop it. No. That’s part of it.”
For a time, he would mute, unfollow, or block the users bringing the most negativity. That’s an exercise in futility at this point.
“Yeah, you’re never catching up. It is what it is.”
How to watch the Cook Out 400
Richmond has been a strong track for Wallace in his career. And he needs to continue to get solid finishes over the next three races to lock his Chase spot.
Wallace sits at 14th in the Chase standings, 39 points clear of 16th place driver Austin Cindric. Wallace qualified in sixth position for Saturday night’s race.
On Saturday, August 15th, NASCAR makes its return to Richmond Raceway for the Cook Out 400. This will be the second race on USA Sports, which will carry NASCAR coverage through the end of the season.
The race begins at 7:00. It will be televised on USA Network.
Last year’s Cook Out 400 featured a redemption story of sorts. A year after winning the 2024 edition of the race, Austin Dillon was penalized for intentionally wrecking Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin. Dillon kept the win, but was kept out of the playoffs.
A year later, Dillon repeated at Richmond. This time without controversy and his Playoff ticket punched.
