No NASCAR driver entered the 2021 season with more scrutiny than Bubba Wallace.
Wallace’s choice to speak out against racial injustice last summer in the wake of the George Floyd murder shined a bright light on the 27-year-old Alabama native. As the only black driver in NASCAR’s Cup Series, he sits squarely at the forefront of the company’s efforts to advocate for equality and inclusion in the sport — a position he doesn’t take lightly. He made further headlines when he decided he wouldn’t return to Richard Petty Motorsports and would be the first driver to join Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan’s new 23XI Racing Team.
While Wallace and 23XI Racing haven’t gotten off to the start they would’ve liked to in the team’s inaugural season of competition, Wallace is well within position to move up in the standings to make the playoffs.
Wallace explains his keys to performance for being at his best on race days, how his partnership with Chilisleep has given him the added benefit of better rest, and why there’s always room for Goldfish.
It’s a lot of core strength, endurance, and a lot of cardio for sure. These cars are not easy to wheel around. Certain racetracks, like this past week at Denver, it’s one of the toughest and most demanding tracks on your body. From 400 laps, you’re doing things 800 times. I think the math is correct there with the corners. You’re trying to tell your body to mentally to do something but physically you start to wear out and you try to balance that out.
There’s a lot of racetracks that we go to that are really tough to manage, both mentally and physically. It’s important to get a good night’s rest before and recovery is a bit thing as well. Training is cardio, lifting some weights because you definitely have to be able to maneuver the car around the racetracks, and endurance is a big thing. The Coke 600 is coming up here and it’s 4½ hours long.
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Chris Graythen
Fuel Properly, But There’s Always Room For Goldfish
It’s just proper hydration leading up to the race. I’m not the best of that, but I’ve definitely been on top of that this year more so than I have been. That’s also just making sure that I put the right in my body before races to go out and perform. Our seats and everything is custom-made for us. No one else can fit in my seat comfortably as I can. When you have the correct people in the back of the shop, mounting your steering position, pedal, and seat position, it helps with all of the cramping concerns.
Before I race, I’ll usually have some grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, asparagus, or some broccoli. Usually, the night before or the day of. I try to keep it light and somewhat healthy leading up to a race. I’ll usually throw a couple of Goldfish in there every once in a while.
Goldfish are definitely my weakness. I’ve actually gone a few days without them because we don’t have any in the house right now, so I need to stop at the grocery store on the way home and get myself a couple of big boxes of them. I get the biggest size they have, and I’ll go through one in about a week. When that box is out, it’s on to the next one.
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Recovery
You’re usually pretty worn out after a race. If you didn’t give it your all on the racetrack, you’re not doing it right. Usually, my back gets a little locked up from sitting there and tensing up from the high-intense moments that we often have out there. Some people can get out the car, walk away, be fine and be ready to go again. For me, it’s usually my back is the thing that goes. But I’ve been in the gym working to get that area stronger and it’s getting better as we progress throughout the season. My recovery usually involves lots of hydration and sleep.
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VGstockstudio
A Good Night’s Sleep
I’ve always been a hot-natured person and I’m constantly sweating. It didn’t matter if it was 30 degrees out, I was always sweating. Chilisleep got word of that and reached out to me because they believed they could help, especially with my sleeping. Trying the Ooler system out was awesome from Day One and I swear by that thing. I have my temperature setting around 68 to 70 degrees.
While that might seem pretty normal, like what you have your house set at, it’s actually pretty cold. But I don’t have to worry about waking up and having sticky hands and arms because I’ve been sweating all night. It’s definitely helped out a ton in being able to sleep throughout the night. Before the sleep system, I would find myself tossing and turning, especially before races. It’s super important to get a good night’s rest. They’ve come in clutch and in a huge way to keep me cool and prepared for races.
I’ve been using them for over a year. It’s been great to me and (girlfriend Amanda Carter) use it. Her temperature setting is like, 80 degrees. It feels like lava if you move your arm or leg to her side of the bed. I don’t know how in the world she sleeps like that.
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paul mansfield photography
Even More Sleep
If there were 26 hours in a day, I would love to sleep 26 hours. But there’s not, and I have obligations and responsibilities. A good night’s sleep for me is 10 hours. That’s when I usually have nothing to do on the schedule. Usually Mondays after a race, I can come home, get a good night’s rest, or try to at least, and sleep until about 10:30. Those are the good days. From Tuesday on, that’s when my week starts. I’m usually getting around seven to eight hours of sleep, which is ideal, and what the health critics say is good. If I could sleep more, I definitely would.
I can usually fall right asleep before a race. Sometimes, whether its allergies or something that wakes me up and I can’t fall back asleep, but that’s very rare. I will say post-race, traveling home late — it doesn’t matter if we race on the west coast and get back at 2 a.m., my mind is usually racing for another two to three hours, and I can stay up until 5 a.m. just sitting there and not doing anything because I’m still racing in my head. It’s usually a little bit tougher to fall asleep but when I do fall asleep, I’m out.
