--- title: "WATCH: NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace skydived into the Daytona 500 with the Air Force" date: "2020-04-29" modified: "2020-10-30" authors: - name: "Jos Joseph" job_title: "Marine Corps Veteran, Contributor" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/joslinjoseph/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/bubba-wallace-air-force/" categories: - "Air Force" - "Entertainment" - "History" - "Sports" --- # WATCH: NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace skydived into the Daytona 500 with the Air Force ![]() The Daytona 500 is known as the Great American Race. Well, the Great American Race just had a driver make a Great American Entrance. --- The United States Air Force has had a partnership with Richard Petty Motorsports for several years now. As part of their partnership, they decided that they were going to make a mark this weekend in Daytona. One way was [a little skydiving](). The other was one of the best paintjobs a racecar has ever had. Bubba Wallace is a fan favorite among NASCAR fans. He finished second at the Daytona 500 in 2018 and 3rd at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2019. While he has had ups and downs in his short career, he is talented and a lot of people are rooting for his success. He is young, personable, and just an overall nice guy. He also does some pretty cool things. ![]() The Air Force Wings of Blue demonstration team decided to help him make a grand entrance at the legendary racetrack on the days before the race. Wallace did a tandem jump out of a C-17 Globemaster and landed about 50 yards from the start/finish line of the 2.5 mile track. After his lap, Wallace [said](), "I guess I can now say that was the coolest thing I've done. I've been able to go with the United States Air Force a couple of times in a fighter jet, F-15 F-16, and I didn't think that could be beat. I'm still trying to decide if skydiving beat that, but jumping with the Wings of Blue was incredible." ![]() He continued, "I wasn't nervous at all, which was kind of surprising because I'm about to jump out of a perfectly good C-17 aircraft, and that was cool, by the way; that thing is awesome. I didn't get nervous. I went straight to scared crapless when we just walked off the back of the airplane. I wanted to back out right then and not do it then. The adrenaline rush that I got at that moment. I don't know another feeling, another moment in my life that can describe that. Incredible. I couldn't really see coming down, I had to hold my goggles. Once I did that, it was incredible; pulled the chute, super quiet ride. (Instructor) Randy did awesome, gave me the ride of my life." Wallace then tweeted video of the jump. https://twitter.com/BubbaWallace/statuses/1228097352709349376 Talk about an entrance! Just your typical Thursday leading into the #DAYTONA500. Grateful for @USAFRecruiting, @RPMotorsports and @USAFWingsofBlue for knocking this off my bucket list!pic.twitter.com/LYGcfmZNIC [twitter.com]() Now let's get to the beautiful machine Wallace is driving. Rain postponed the race after the 20th lap on Sunday until Monday, but the weather wasn't the only thing that stopped the show. Dale Earnhardt had his black #3, Jeff Gordon had his #24 rainbow car, and Richard Petty had the #43 STP with its iconic paint job. Wallace will be racing the #43 too, but with a serious Air Force twist. You know that A-10 Warthog? The one that makes that [beautiful sound]()? The paint job on Wallace's #43 honors that plane. While the pictures look great, to see it in motion shows the true beauty of this magnificent racing machine. https://twitter.com/BubbaWallace/statuses/1229036553260929024 pic.twitter.com/YNIZlSQTbs [twitter.com]() Wallace added a few personal touches honoring recently deceased driver John Andretti and the victims of the recent helicopter crash in LA including one of his heroes, Kobe Bryant. Awesome job to the Air Force, Richard Petty Racing, and Bubba! ## Author Joslin Joseph is senior contributor for We Are The Mighty covering sports, entertainment, news, and history. He is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq. After the service, he worked in the sports industry for organizations including the San Diego Padres, the Farmers Insurance Open, the University of Texas Athletics, Baylor Athletics, and Ohio State Athletics. He also helped build GovX’s sports, concert, and travel discount program for military veterans and first responders. His contributions to We Are The Mighty have included interviewing celebrities such as David Robinson, Craig Morgan, and Justin Fields. He also covered sports events and military participation in sports events such as the Super Bowl flyover. In addition to We Are The Mighty, Joslin’s writing has been published in The Hill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, San Francisco Chronicle, AOL, Yahoo News, Task & Purpose, and the Brattle Street Review. Born and raised in New Jersey, educated in Ohio, and currently living in Southern California. ### Author social links [LinkedIn]()