Bubba Wallace’s spotter looking for ‘the one dumbass’ amid Ichiro Suzuki’s HoF announcement

Bubba Wallace, Ichiro Suzuki
(From left) NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace; longtime New York Yankees closer Ichiro Suzuki looks on during a Spring Training workout at Peoria Sports Complex (via IMAGN)

Bubba Wallace’s spotter and friend Freddie Kraft was blown away when he learned about Ichiro Suzuki’s near-unanimous induction into the 2025 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. He took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to make his thoughts known on the same.

Besides Suzuki, this year’s inductees include CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. The Japan-born athlete received 99.9% of the total votes, which means there was just one person who did not vote for Suzuki.

“Who was the one dumbass that didn’t vote Ichiro Suzuki into the Hall of Fame?” Kraft recently tweeted.

This single dissenting vote prevented Ichiro Suzuki from achieving a feat accomplished only by Mariano Rivera, the legendary New York Yankees closer: unanimous election on the first ballot. Hence, Kraft’s displeasure is quite understandable.

Notably, Kraft has been calling races for Bubba Wallace since the latter’s days in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Wallace has six wins in the series, the first of which came in Martinsville back in 2013. That victory also made him the first African American driver since Hall of Famer Wendell Scott to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race.

Today, Wallace drives the No. 23 Toyota Camry full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. The 31-year-old Alabama native is currently preparing for his eighth season in the Cup Series. Last year, Wallace finished 18th in points, picking six top-5s and 14 top-10s along the way.


“No one will deal with his a**”- Freddie Kraft drops a hilarious response to a fan's query, confirms Cup Series return with Bubba Wallace

With about a month left until the new season kicks off, a fan on X named Kelly Taylor wondered whether Freddie Kraft will spot Bubba Wallace in 2025. Kraft had a rather funny response to that. He wrote,

“Unfortunately Kelly I’m stuck. No one else will deal with his a**.”

Wallace, too, joined the funny exchange as he wrote,

“Hope not.”

Although his spotter remains unchanged, Wallace will pair up with a new crew chief in 2025. Charles Denike, known for serving Christian Eckes’ No. 19 Truck Series team at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, will join the No. 23 roster.

“Bubba is a proven winner, and I believe we will bring out the best in each other," said Denike of the opportunity (via Motorcycle Sports). “Thank you to Michael (Jordan), Denny (Hamlin), and Dave (Rogers) for the opportunity to join the 23XI family. Winning is a process… I am looking forward to contributing to 23XI’s growth and journey to winning championships.”

Bubba Wallace’s first race of 2025 with Denike as his crew chief is scheduled for February 2 at Bowman Gray Stadium (8 pm ET, FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR). However, his first point-paying race of the season, the 67th Daytona 500, will be held on February 16 from 2:30 pm (ET) onwards.

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Edited by Pratham K Sharma
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