“Act like you’re pushing a boulder up a mountain”: Bubba Wallace candidly reflects on his ‘acting’ adversity in Cars movie franchise 

NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace has shared his experience of voice-acting in the third film in the Cars franchise. He currently drives the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE full-time for 23XI Racing.

Wallace played the character of 'Bubba Wheelhouse' in the 2017 Cars 3 movie alongside fellow NASCAR drivers and personalities. Hendrick Motorsports' (HMS) Chase Elliott played Chase Racelott and his best friend Ryan Blaney was Ryan "Inside" Laney. Former NASCAR drivers, including seven-time Cup champion Richard Petty and HMS co-owner Jeff Gordon, also had cameo roles.

In a recent interview with 'Chat Us Up,' Wallace admitted that acting was not easy for him.

"NASCAR came to us and said, 'Hey, do you want to be in Cars 3?' And we're like, 'Hell yeah, why not?' So that was really awkward. There was a little studio booth in Charlotte. We didn't have to go to LA or anything. But we stood in this room. They're just telling you to say this, say that. Act like this, act like that. And it's like, we're not actor," Bubba Wallace said.

"The biggest thing was, 'Act like you're pushing a boulder up a mountain.' Well, I'm not physically doing that, so I don't know how to act like that. So it was tough. But all in all, a really cool deal," he added.

Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace recently landed his first top-5 finish in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. The 31-year-old finished third behind race winner Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"We are damn sure competitive each and every stop" - Bubba Wallace after podium finish at Homestead-Maimi

Bubba Wallace led for 56 laps and fought hard to stay ahead of Kyle Larson during last Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400. After Alex Bowman hit the wall and lost the lead, Larson got his first win and Wallace his first podium of the season.

Before last week, Wallace had on top-10 finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He also won one of the qualifying dual races of the season-opening Daytona 500 in February.

"It was really good. We showed up here in Miami and had speed. That’s the first box you want to check. We all know when you are a race car driver, you want to show up and be competitive. We were that," Wallace said (via NBC Sports).

"My pit crew has been on fire. A tremendous amount of work has gone into the last five years of this team to get to where we’re at. We’re not where we want to be, but we are damn sure competitive each and every stop," he added.

Bubba Wallace is ranked seventh in the regular season standings ahead of this week's Cup race at Martinsville Speedway. The Cook Out 400 is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 30.