NASCAR star Bubba Wallace is no stranger to controversy.

It's perhaps that penchant for drama that has turned the 29-year-old Wallace into something of a pro-wrestling villain in the world of NASCAR. Wherever he goes, he's often greeted with a chorus of boos from fans of the sport.

That bubbling ugliness came to a head in North Carolina over the weekend when some of NASCAR's biggest stars gathered at North Wilkesboro Speedway for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race on Sunday.

Before that main event, however, there was the Tyson 250, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday.

It was a solid, if ultimately disappointing, finish for Wallace, who held a lead at one point before stumbling all the way to fifth due to worn tires.

After the event, while taking questions, Wallace was booed by fans, which prompted a reporter to ask him how he felt about that.

To his credit, he largely brushed off the negative reaction as being just a part of sports, but he did take a parting shot at the jeering fans and their pocketbooks.

"Hey, as long as you continue to live your life, judging a book by its cover, that’s who you are,” Wallace told reporters. “Don’t change it up for anybody else. That’s the biggest thing. That’s fine. I mean I finished fifth.

"I got a good payday. I’m good."

The boos for @BubbaWallace after today’s truck race & during driver intros were very loud at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

A @wsoctv reporter asked a great question about how/if that affects Bubba.

Wallace gave a great answer in return. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/0VDHtUZ7c0

— Noah Lewis (@Noah_Lewis1) May 20, 2023

Wallace appeared to carry some of that resentment over to Sunday.

After finishing a sterling second place in the All-Star Race, he appeared to slip a little middle finger for all of NASCAR fandom to see:

WARNING: The following video and tweets contain imagery some viewers might find offensive.

Real professional there @BubbaWallace @23XIRacing flipping the bird at the start of his post race interview. No class man. #NASCAR @NASCAR @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/bg7fiIrHol

— Charlie Waffles (@CWaffles) May 22, 2023

Social media quickly caught onto the brief, but seemingly deliberate, gesture from Wallace:

@BubbaWallace dudes a loser pic.twitter.com/qrATF4yIBc

— d (@robertsonderek4) May 22, 2023

Honestly just a sore loser, as always @BubbaWallace pic.twitter.com/YJqk4Ag2C8

— i am kirks complete lack of playoff success (@thelimoseats8) May 22, 2023

I wonder who Bubba Wallace was giving the finger to after the race? pic.twitter.com/5xrPL2876z

— David Posey (@DavidPosey1414) May 22, 2023

While it's not clear who, exactly, Wallace was flipping off, it's not a good look for an already polarizing driver.

Wallace, the only black driver in the Cup Series, made headlines in June 2020 when he claimed to have found a noose hanging in his garage. A thorough FBI investigation found the "noose" to be a garage door pull rope that had been in place since the year prior.

That incident thrust Wallace into the spotlight in ways that he did not appear ready for.

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An incident in July 2020 saw him making a bigoted swipe at another driver's Christian beliefs.

“People say one of the nicest guys in the garage," Wallace said of Michael McDowell. "Can’t wait for the God-fearing text that he’s going to send me about preaching and praise and respect.

"What a joke he is.”

"What a joke he is." @BubbaWallace on @Mc_Driver. pic.twitter.com/3l2RIloWqH

— NASCAR Alerts (@NASCAR_Alerts) July 15, 2020

In October 2022, Wallace was handed a one-week suspension for violating NASCAR's code of conduct.

His return from that suspension was to a chorus of boos.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.