Bubba Wallace Team Races Upside Down Roof Number at Michigan

 

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

     During this Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series “FireKeepers Casino” 400 at Michigan International Speedway, it was noticed that something wasn’t quite right with Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota Camry.

As Bubba Wallace drove his McDonald’s sponsored car to a 19th place finish, but…. the roof number on the car was applied upside down. 

Fans at home and at the track noticed this significant mistake from 23XI Racing’s graphics department, and took to Twitter spreading the news. NASCAR personalities like Jaret Lundberg (who runs popular YouTube channel “The Iceberg), and Steve Luvender (the founder of Trading Paints for iRacing) made posts reaching thousands of fans:

So why is Bubba’s roof number upside down? Just something weird I noticed compared to every other car 😂#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/I4CdDYopDZ

— Jaret Lundberg (@IceTitan80) August 22, 2021

wait are the 23 roof numbers upside down pic.twitter.com/hBAi4GAYvs

— Steve Luvender (@steveluvender) August 22, 2021

While this error was likely troublesome for spotters during today’s race, for the most part, it turned out to be harmless. While highly unlikely, NASCAR could penalize the No. 23 team for this issue, for it violates Rule 7.6.e which states that “The roof number must read from the driver’s side, and not the passenger’s side”.

Interesting enough this is not the first time that this issue has occurred in NASCAR. Prior to today, “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville”, Georgia’s Bill Elliott fell victim to this twice. First, in 1985 Elliott’s Winston Million Ford had the No. 9 adhered backwards and upside down (see below).

Bill Elliott’s “Winston Million” winning 1985 Ford Thunderbird

The second occasion that this happened to Bill Elliott was in 1995 in his No. 94 Ford Thunderbird where the number was once again applied in the wrong direction (see below).

Bill Elliott’s No. 94 1995 Ford Thunderbird [McDonald’s Racing]

As fans commented online about the issue for 23XI Racing, 23XI made a statement replying:

ʇsɐɟ oƃ ןןıʇs ɹɐɔ https://t.co/LSjjK4oESP

— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) August 22, 2021

This situation is not necessarily a serious one, and can be boiled down to just something fun to laugh at. It’s not the first time this happened in the sport, and it certainly won’t be the last. Fortunately next time we see this kind of mistake, Bubba Wallace and 23XI can be used as a past example.