PRESIDENT Donald Trump is expected to attend the Daytona 500 on Sunday, but driver Bubba Wallace couldn’t care less.
Trump and Wallace had a public feud back in 2020 over what the president called a “hoax.”
In 2020 at Talladega Superspeedway, a noose was found in Wallace’s driver stall.
Wallace is the only black driver in Nascar , and the sport rallied around him in the moment.
Federal authorities later ruled that the noose had been hanging for months and that it was not a hate crime.
Because of this, Trump said Wallace should apologize for the “hoax.”
“Has @BubbaWallaceapologized to all of those great NASCAR drivers & officials who came to his aid, stood by his side, & were willing to sacrifice everything for him, only to find out that the whole thing was just another HOAX?,” he wrote in 2020.
Wallace was quick to fire back against Trump’s message at the time.
“Always deal with the hate being thrown at you with LOVE!” he wrote.
“Love should come naturally as people are TAUGHT to hate. Even when it’s HATE from the POTUS.”
Now back in the oval office, Trump is headed to the Daytona 500 to watch the first race of the Nascar season.
A notice from the Federal Aviation Administration indicated that Trump was set to attend the race.
Nascar did say on Wednesday that is hasn’t gotten confirmation yet about Trump’s attendance.
While it is a big deal for some, Wallace is making it known that he doesn’t care at all that Trump will be in the building.
“Couldn’t care less,” he said.
“We’re here to race. Not for the show.”
Wallace was outspoken about the large presence of the Confederate flag at Nascar races before it was eventually banned by the racing series.
Love should come naturally as people are TAUGHT to hate. Even when it’s HATE from the POTUS.
Bubba Wallace
Trump wasn’t a fan of the decision and said it resulted in the “lowest ratings EVER!”
Nascar actually saw increased ratings from previous years that season.
The Daytona 500 will kick off at 1:30 pm ET on Sunday.
Chase Briscoe is starting from pole position.