NASCAR's Bubba Wallace Loses Sponsorship After Rage-Quitting Race

In a story that almost perfectly encapsulates the weirdness of 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a NASCAR driver was cut by his real-life sponsor on Twitter after dropping out of a virtual race.

On Sunday, Bubba Wallace took to the track at a virtual Bristol Motor Speedway for a NACAR iRacing event and got tangled up with his fellow driver Cling Bowyer during a lap. Somewhat of a hothead, Wallace got upset and dropped out of the iRace.

Bubba OUT. @ClintBowyer #NASCAR #ProInvitationalSeries pic.twitter.com/Oq7ggLBPi6

— Davin (@DriveThrough_) April 5, 2020

“That’s why I don’t take this shit serious. Peace out,” Wallace said on his gaming stream.

After Wallace joked about quitting on Twitter, his first-time sponsor Blue-Emu promptly announced it was cutting ties with him, also on Twitter.

GTK where you stand. Bye bye Bubba. We're interested in drivers, not quitters.

— Blue-Emu (@BlueEmu1) April 5, 2020

Subsequent tweets by the brand made it clear that, as surreal as the situation was, it was real.

Imagine all the kids watching this with their families, in real time. We stand by our decision.

— Blue-Emu (@BlueEmu1) April 5, 2020

It's real. We thought it was fun too, until….

— Blue-Emu (@BlueEmu1) April 5, 2020

It's so serious. https://t.co/79foNsLKrI

— Blue-Emu (@BlueEmu1) April 5, 2020

“We aren’t sponsoring Bubba anymore,” Ben Blessing, the executive vice president of pain-relief brand, told The Action Network. “Can you imagine if he did that in real life on a track? We thought this was a blessing in disguise for us. But then you find out that you aren’t sponsoring a NASCAR driver, you are sponsoring someone like my 13-year-old son who broke his controller playing some game where he builds houses.”

So, that’s where we are in the world of sports right now. Keep washing your hands, y’all. For anyone that is interested, William Byron easily won NASCAR’s iRacing event on Sunday.

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