Bubba Wallace gets DoorDash, McDonald’s, Dr Pepper backing at new team

Bubba Wallace’s primary sponsors for 2021 include many food-related companies.

Bubba Wallace’s primary sponsors for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season have now been announced, and include a trio of familiar food-related companies.

As NASCAR’s only full-time black driver, Wallace vaulted into the national limelight during the 2020 season, actively backing social justice protests and outperforming his equipment on the track, posting five top 10s and an average finish of 21.1, which is the best in his full-time Cup career, the previous three seasons coming in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.

But for 2021 he moves to the new team of 23XI Racing (pronounced “23 Eleven”) in the No. 23 Toyota Camry, which is owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 driver Denny Hamlin.

“Today is a big day for us at 23XI Racing,” Hamlin said in a press release. “To be able to announce the addition of five founding partners who are willing to join us in our first year and who share in our beliefs and values is such a great feeling. We’ve certainly had to make things happen fast to build this new team, and I’m excited to welcome each one of these partners and to get to know them better.

23XI Racing revealed on Monday morning, December 14 their inaugural season sponsors, which include DoorDash, McDonald’s and Dr Pepper, along with Columbia Sportswear and Root Insurance.

This slate covers the entire 36-race (plus two exhibition events) season, which is incredibly impressive. DoorDash will have the most primary sponsorships throughout the season, though the exact number is unknown.

DoorDash, McDonald’s and Columbia all sponsored Bubba Wallace last season at RPM, and McDonald’s has a long history in stock-car racing, most famously sponsoring 1988 series champion Bill Elliott, father of current champion Chase Elliott. More recently, they’ve been with Chip Ganassi Racing drivers like Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson and Matt Kenseth.

And, of course, Jordan was synonymous with the brand during his 1990s heyday, filming iconic Super Bowl ads with Boston Celtics great Larry Bird and the Looney Tunes.

Dr Pepper also has a history with the sport, backing several teams and a variety of drivers in the Triple-A level NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) from 1998-2002, and supporting BK Racing in the Cup Series during the team’s entire existence from 2012-18, where the team also ran the No. 23 Toyota for much of its existence.

Given the odd cooperative-competitor relationship between Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper/7-UP, it is currently unknown whether Bubba Wallace will remain part of the Coca-Cola Racing Family group of drivers given his new soda sponsorship.

Since 23XI Racing has an alliance with the elite team of JGR, that will likely make them a contender for top 10-results right off the bat, guaranteeing a lot of screen time, which will deliver quite a return on investment, especially given that these are very recognizable, family-friendly brands, which have become fairly rare in NASCAR over the past decade.

Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 team will begin the year at Daytona International Speedway on February 14 with the Daytona 500. For more motorsports news, be sure to check out our FanSided Network sister site Beyond the Flag for the latest information, analysis and opinions.