Bubba Wallace trolls father-to-be Ryan Blaney hard ahead of NASCAR qualifying at Sonoma

Bubba Wallace couldn’t be happier for his good friend Ryan Blaney, as he’s a newly announced father-to-be. However, the 23XI Racing wheelman had to get some jokes off as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Sonoma this weekend.

Evidently, Blaney is taking this father thing in stride, as he rocked the classic footwear of all dads, some New Balances. Wallace snapped a photo, taking to Twitter (now known as X) to make a clever quip regarding his friend.

Kid ain’t even born yet my man already rocking them Dad 2.0s 💀 pic.twitter.com/lPPxyHHH3A

— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) July 12, 2025

“Kid ain’t even born yet my man already rocking them Dad 2.0s,” Wallace joked. Tough to disagree there, as Blaney is looking more and more like a father-to-be in those shoes.

Perhaps Wallace can give his friend some tips on maintaining some style amid fatherhood’s challenges. He and his wife, Amanda, welcomed their son to the world last year on Sept. 29, so he knows a thing or two.

Regardless of their footwear, Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney will both be pining for success at Sonoma this weekend. Neither driver is known for their abilities on road courses, but that could change this weekend in California. We’ll see if either can get the job done at one of NASCAR’s more striking venues.

More on Bubba Wallace, NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma

Moreover, Bubba Wallace is hoping to put last weekend’s debacle at Chicago behind him, and find some positive momentum at Sonoma this weekend. He got into an incident with Alex Bowman in the Windy City during the final laps of the Chicago Street Race, which led to him finishing P28.

The duo was in the middle of an intense battle, racing for position inside the top ten. After some beating and banging, Bowman sent Wallace spinning exiting Turn 2 on Lap 70. 

At the time, Wallace was on older tires than Bowman. The two were matched up against each other in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, and Wallace did everything he could to hold off Bowman. The Hendrick Motorsports wheelman eventually decided he’d had enough of being a pinball between Wallace and the outside wall, and he didn’t let up.

It led to some criticism for Wallace. Denny Hamlin, his 23XI Racing boss, saw the incident after the race. He said on Monday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast that he wishes Wallace had let Bowman go on by instead of “playing grabass with the 48.”

Without a win in 2025, Bubba Wallace will have to make the playoffs on points, unless he returns to Victory Lane over the course of the summer. That’s not guaranteed, so it’s in his best interest to rack up some good finishes. We’ll see if he has a better showing in California this weekend than he did in Chicago.