Bubba Wallace visits White House, hangs out with Josh Dobbs, meets John Legend, talks space

Before hopping inside his No. 23 Toyota for Sunday’s USA TODAY 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bubba Wallace paid a visit to the White House earlier this week.

Wallace arrived Wednesday night for a dinner with Leidos, one of his sponsors, as part of the “Space for All” initiative. Though a quick trip as he left the following afternoon, Wallace had fun and even met with former Tennessee and current San Francisco 49ers quarterback Josh Dobbs.

Bubba Wallace visited The White House last week for a Leidos event on space. He got to meet John Legend. And eat awesome French toast. Sounds like he enjoyed the visit. pic.twitter.com/TH4xseVWpv

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 23, 2024

“Leidos is a partner of ours, of course and the Space for All initiative,” Wallace said, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “So, we were up there talking about space. It was fun. Obviously former Tennessee Vol Josh Dobbs was there. We had some fun, got to know him. But yeah, just a quick trip to go up there and check it out.”

While meeting Dobbs is a neat experience in itself, running into John Legend is next level. Wallace certainly didn’t expect to see the Grammy Award winning artist at the White House, but that’s exactly what happened. On top of that, Legend paid the ultimate compliment to Wallace.

Bubba Wallace receives big compliment from John Legend

“You should have seen my PR people, they were freaking out,” Wallace said. “‘Oh my God, come out here, run!’ I was just like, ‘Chill, bro.’ It was cool. He was really nice. I walked up to him with his kid, and [he] said I was the best racecar driver in the world. So, appreciate that.”

Beyond rubbing elbows with a fellow athlete and a singer-songwriter, Wallace experienced what he called “the best French toast I’ve ever had.” Unfortunately for Wallace, his local diner just can’t compare.

“I was part of the West Wing and got to eat in the Mess. So, that was good,” Wallace said. “The best French toast I’ve ever had, so that sucks for all the places that I go to get French toast now. It can’t beat the White House. But it was a cool experience.”

Back from his trip to the White House, Wallace will be part of the field Sunday going for his first win of the season. He currently occupies the 16th and final playoff spot, holding a six-point lead over Joey Logano. Wallace will start 17th in Row 9 alongside Ty Gibbs.