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Bubba Wallace throws out first pitch ahead of Tennessee vs. Xavier

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•about 23 hours•

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Bubba Wallace
Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

An avid Tennessee fan, Bubba Wallace took the mound at Lindsey Nelson Stadium to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. He threw a perfect strike.

Wallace was in attendance for Wednesday’s game as the Volunteers took on Xavier. Earlier this week, Tennessee announced the NASCAR driver would throw out the ceremonial first pitch ahead of the midweek matchup.

Wallace, of course, has been a longtime fan of the Vols. That made it even more special when the pitch went right over the plate.

Wallace’s mother, Desiree, ran track for the Tennessee program and grew up in Knoxville. Bubba Wallace also attended several Volunteers football games as a kid with his uncle, who was a season ticket holder.

Wallace has appeared on campus numerous times, including a recent 2023 game between Georgia and Tennessee. He’s often seen chopping it up with the fans and taking pictures, making the day for multiple Volunteers fans on campus when he does so.

Last season, Tennessee brought home its first-ever national title. Wallace was watching close and celebrated the championship on social media.

Bubba Wallace’s appearance in Knoxville Wednesday night comes as he gets ready to head to Phoenix for this week’s NASCAR Cup Series race. The Shriners Children’s 500 gets underway Sunday, and Wallace enters the race ranked sixth in points. He’s coming off a particularly good week at Texas, where he finished P20 at the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA but wrapped up a front row starting position and had a Stage 1 win.

All the while, the legal battle between 23XI Racing and NASCAR went to a new level Wednesday. NASCAR filed a countersuit against 23XI and Front Row Motorsports, alleging a conspiracy involving Michael Jordan’s business partner Curtis Polk.

In the suit, NASCAR called the teams an “illegal cartel,” and alleged that they, led by 23XI co-owner Polk, “agreed to a scheme to pressure NASCAR to accept their collusive terms, including by engaging in media campaigns, interfering with NASCAR’s broadcast agreement negotiations, threatening boycotts of NASCAR events and engaging in a group boycott of a NASCAR Team Owner Council Meeting.”

“It is truly ironic that in trying to blow-up the Charter system, 23XI and FRM have sought to weaponize the antitrust laws to achieve their goals,” the claim reads. “That is because the undisputed reality is that it is 23XI and FRM, led by 23XI’s owner and sports agent Curtis Polk (23XI, FRM, and Curtis Polk collectively, “Counterclaim Defendants”), who willfully violated the antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in connection with the terms of the 2025 Charter Agreements.”

Thomas Goldkamp and Nick Geddes contributed.