Let’s be honest, last week’s NASCAR weekend at Talladega Superspeedway drew mixed reactions. While the Cup Series featured left fans divided, the Xfinity race stole the show, earning praise from die-hard fans and racing aficionados alike.
But NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace saw things differently. While last week’s Jack Link’s 500 received flak from fans for its underwhelming action, Wallace pushed back the hate. And this week, however, he upped the ante further with a rather explicit outburst, unapologetically bashing “some” fans.
Kenny Wallace Goes Scorched Earth, Obliterating the Unwanted Fan Hatred
Last Sunday’s Cup Series race at Talladega drew over four million viewers on FOX. Yet, the TV rating was down by 6% compared to last year, but Wallace didn’t believe that was any indication, while others deemed it was due to NASCAR’s dwindling viewership.
In a race that saw 67 lead changes, four cautions for 22 laps, some fans felt that the race was unusually calm for a superspeedway race with fewer wrecks. However, the veteran dirt racer Wallace highlighted the sheer anomaly, exposing the contradiction.
His emphasis was on the TV numbers. Sharing Adam Stern’s post, Wallace took a sharp dig – “4 MILLION PEOPLE. That’s a lot of people watching a race that was supposedly no good.”
Yet in a separate online poll by renowned NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck, 61% of fans voted against the “Dega” race. Even the thrilling finish by Team Penske’s Austin Cindric claiming the win didn’t quite satisfy the fandom’s yearning.
Soon after, fan-shot clips began surfacing on the internet, with many capturing live reactions and visible protests from the stands of Talladega. One particularly infamous video that made rounds showed a fan flipping both middle fingers towards the track, giving the entire field a loud and clear dose of boo birds.
It didn’t take long for Wallace to catch the wind of the viral video, and he didn’t mince his words. Firing back, he gave a befitting reply to all detractors, posting, “I see “some” people still cannot get over ME liking the @TALLADEGA race. LOL. GO F**K YOURSELF.”
Previously, when fans trashed the Bristol race, it was Wallace who laid down cover fire. The veteran acknowledged the fact that the days of selling out the iconic short track is in the past. He also urged fans to be less critical and accept the changing times.
He wrote, “95% of the people complaining about empty seats at @ItsBristolBaby ARE OLD PEOPLE that are living in the past. THOSE seats will never be full again. Those days are over. However. Those 150 thousand seats must stay for other special sporting events.”
READ: Kenny Wallace Silences Kyle Larson Doubters With Candid Response
Wallace does have a point here. Even though NASCAR races are not what they used to be, the sport has drastically transformed across the board and is now attracting the younger section of the population with its unique bumper-to-bumper racing.
Disagreements are fair, but outright hate will never be, and that is the bottom line.