Bubba Wallace turned heads earlier this week with comments leading to speculation that he might be considering his retirement from racing.
Wallace, who despite an improved racing season failed to make the playoffs, was asked by Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass about whether he’d been dwelling on the disappointing results.
“Did you have a sob day?” Pockrass asked.
Wallace replied, “Every day that ended in ‘Y’.”
“Every day ends in ‘Y’,” the reporter replied.
“Yea, no […],” Wallace joked. “I’m glad you got the joke, Bob.”
It’s what followed in the exchange with the reporter that really raised some eyebrows.
Bubba Wallace Hinting At Retirement?
When asked how many more of these “sob days” Bubba Wallace might have, the 23XI Racing team member indicated a shift in priorities.
He also mentioned that a “change” was on the horizon.
“I guess, for the next 10 weeks, I don’t know,” Wallace said of how long he’d be wallowing in the season’s disappointment.
“I got 26 days to where – oh people are gonna have a heyday with this – to where racing don’t matter. I’m about to have a kid,” he said. “So, things are gonna change.”
Newsweek construed the comments as a sign that failing to make the playoffs “could be the straw that cracks the camel’s back, leading him to a potential retirement from the sport.”
For the drivers that just missed the playoffs, they need to try to move on … Bubba Wallace on how many sob days he has had, how many more he will and his outlook (he predicted yesterday he'd qualify 18th; he was 24th). pic.twitter.com/fC9oUraVHE
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 8, 2024
Wallace And His Wife Are Expecting A Baby
Of course, Newsweek’s assessment that Bubba Wallace is contemplating retirement is speculation.
His comments that “racing don’t matter” seem to be referencing the post-playoff run where now he can do nothing more than try to accumulate points and end the season on a high note.
As for the “things are gonna change” aspect, Bubba and his wife Amanda are expecting their first baby in October. So yeah, things are about to change drastically in the Wallace household.
“She (Amanda) asked me a couple weeks ago, she’s like, ‘Are you excited?’ I’m like, ‘Look, there’s a lot going on right now obviously, I will be excited when little man is here,'” he said of the life-changing moment.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to be a dad, but it takes a lot for me to get excited.”
Those “sob days” are almost assuredly going to end when their son arrives. Will it change his views on a career in racing though?
As much as “it just hurts” to have missed the playoffs, it seems unlikely that Wallace would walk away from racing for good.
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