ESPN’s Headline About Bubba Wallace’s Win Is Going Viral originally appeared on The Spun.
Bubba Wallace is a NASCAR Cup Series race champion again, winning at Indianapolis on Sunday evening.
The veteran NASCAR Cup Series driver had last won in September of 2022 in Kansas. At the time, he was driving the No. 45 for 23XI Racing. Wallace went nearly three years – and 100 races – without a victory. But the streak stopped on Sunday evening.
Wallace, driving the No. 23 Toyota for 23XI Racing, bested a loaded field at the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis on Sunday evening. It was his first win in three years and it clinched him a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
The veteran NASCAR Cup Series driver had missed the playoffs in 2024. He was determined to make it this year and he has done that. Wallace, of course, has more work to do, especially when the postseason arrives.
But he was able to celebrate his historic win on Sunday evening in pretty cool fashion. Photos from Wallace’s post-race celebration went viral on social media.
So, too, did ESPN’s headline about his win.
ESPN chose to highlight how Wallace was the first Black driver in NASCAR history to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The outlet’s headline went viral on social media.
“Bubba Wallace became the first Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval 👏,” ESPN wrote on Sunday night to its 58.6 million followers.
“Wallace overcame a late rain delay, two overtimes and a hard-charging Kyle Larson to take the Brickyard 400.”
Bubba Wallace became the first Black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval 👏
Wallace overcame a late rain delay, two overtimes and a hard-charging Kyle Larson to take the Brickyard 400. https://t.co/DSj9Fgv9LY
— ESPN (@espn) July 27, 2025
Unsurprisingly, there were some fans who took issue with ESPN’s framing of the win.
“Who cares if he’s black. I like this guy! The Man is a great driver and I think we should praise him on that alone, and bring in skin color,” one fan added.
“Bunch of whiners in the comments cuz his skin color was mentioned lol,” one fan wrote.
“Ummmm… Lewis Hamilton won an F1 race in 2007 at Indy,” another fan wrote.
“Why does the color of his skin matter? That seems racist. And why is the word ‘black’ capitalized? That isn’t a proper noun,” one fan added.
Wallace, of course, will look past the criticism – and the hate – and look to make a big impact in the push toward the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
It’ll be fun to watch him compete among the sport’s best moving forward this fall.
ESPN’s Headline About Bubba Wallace’s Win Is Going Viral first appeared on The Spun on Jul 28, 2025
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
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