Bubba Wallace Throws Shade at William Byron Before Getting Emotional

Now the father of a son, Becks, Wallace views racing in NASCAR from a very different perspective as is the case for any first-time parent. Racing is no longer the top priority.

But don’t mistake that shift in attitude as someone with less desire and passion to win. It’s still there and after the last three races, he desperately wanted to turn things around and, 1) get a finish and 2) get a top finish expected of the 23XI Racing team that has shown itself to be one of the top 10 teams, sitting well above the playoff cutline after gaining valuable stage points throughout the first half of the regular season, including a pair of stage wins.

On Sunday, Wallace snapped the DNF skid with a strong sixth-place result at Nashville, which is even more impressive because it included overcoming a setback in Stage 1 with a self-inflicted speeding penalty.

After the race the 23XI Racing driver visited the Prime Video NASCAR crew and talked about his day, which included throwing some shade at William Byron.

“Way to start off June here with a sixth-place finish,” he said of his first top 10 in over a month. “I gave it my all trying to get Willy B there. Thought he'd give it away like he did last week. But I tried,” Wallace said, referring to last week’s Coca-Cola 600 when Ross Chastain made a late pass on the No. 24 car for the win.

“Oh, that’s rough,” Carl Edwards said.

“Bubba Wallace on fire,” show host Danielle Trotta offered.

Interestingly, the joking took a more emotional tone a short time later when the conversation shifted to his son.

”That's the biggest support system,” he paused. “He's eight months. He doesn't know what's going on, but he's excited to see me every time,” the driver said, fighting back tears and dabbing at his eyes.

“Aw, buddy, man, that's beautiful to hear a father share that,” Edwards said. “Thank you for sharing that with us.”

It was a nice moment between the Hall of Famer and the driver and one that years from now the young son will be able to watch and see how it played out on live TV, and most importantly, how much his dad loved him. A feeling any parent truly appreciates.