Published 12/26/2022, 6:15 AM EST
Social media has definitely grown big over the last decade or so. People are now making careers, MILLIONS, off it; something that no one would’ve imagined in the early 2000s. With that in mind, drivers also capitalize and make the most of the tech. Drivers like Bubba Wallace and Hailie Deegan have shown how it can be used to their benefit.
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Bubba Wallace is a divisive figure. Things he says and does make a strong division within the NASCAR fan base. But all that divisiveness has a plus point too – attention. The 23XI Racing driver always has eyes on him. That kind of attention has its pros and cons, but Wallace has learned to walk that tightrope.
Bubba Wallace has mastered social media
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Wallace has loads of followers on his social media accounts. For instance, Bubba’s Instagram account boasts of a following of 497,000 while his Twitter handle has 460,000 dedicated people on the lookout for the next update.
By his own admission, though, he prefers Instagram. In an interview with The Athletic, he was asked “If you could only pick one form of social media to use and drop all the rest, which would it be?”. Bubba had no doubts, and he shot back with “Instagram.”
Presumably, the driver is not a big fan of Twitter. Therefore, he wouldn’t be mighty impressed by Brad Perez’s new plea on the microblogging site for sponsorship. Apart from Wallace, Hailie Deegan too has shown love for the Meta-owned platform, over Elon Musk’s new baby project.
She said to USA Today, “There’s always those hater people. Always. Twitter is, by far, the worst. I just think older people are on Twitter, and you always get that Joe that has his American flag background that is a little more ruthless on there than other people. Instagram is kind of where my main focus is…”
Perez, an Xfinity Series driver, posted on the platform “hi everyone i’m a @NASCAR_Xfinity driver from south florida pls i’m lookin for sponsors.” It’s a largely untested way of seeking sponsorship, but the replies to the tweet do indicate some potential in the method.
With the field getting more and more competitive, drivers will have to resort to such novel methods to get that marginal benefit. Kudos to the driver for thinking of this one.
What does Bubba hate about Instagram?
The 12 Questions series by Jeff Gluck on The Athletic is always a great read for fans. Gluck manages to ask some intriguing questions to drivers – things that fans would love to know.
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE – SEPTEMBER 17: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #45 MoneyLion Toyota, looks on in the garage area after mechanical issue during the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 17, 2022 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
After Bubba Wallace told Gluck about his preference for Instagram, he divulged some issues that he felt the platform had. “We were just talking about this yesterday with the photographer we have hired on, Nico (Banda): Instagram just kills the resolution,” he told Gluck.
“There’s some way around it in Photoshop or something to post a really crisp picture. But say you take a picture — which iPhone cameras are solid now, right? You put it up there and it’s like “Damn, this looks sh***y.” But it’s Instagram’s crop…”
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Gluck sought clarification, “They didn’t upload the full resolution of it, basically?” and Bubba replied, “Yeah, they kill it. It’s unfortunate.”
The interviewer also suggested a paid form of Instagram where such issues wouldn’t come up. Wallace loved the idea and said, “That’d be sick. Let’s start something there.”
Watch This Story: Bubba Wallace on “The Biggest Challenge” which left NASCAR to question him, “‘Hey, you’re serious about this?’”
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Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t made any hints that he follows NASCAR or reads The Athletic, but if he’s reading – maybe explore the idea, Mr. Zuckerberg?
Would you like such a platform? Let us know in the comments!