Bubba Wallace’s attempt to secure a spot in the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series playoffs ended in disappointment after a 16th-place finish at the Southern 500 in Darlington. This result is in sharp contrast to his 23XI Racing teammate, Tyler Reddick, who claimed the regular-season championship. Analysts Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi from The Athletic have critiqued Wallace’s season, suggesting that 23XI Racing “has not done a very good job.”
Despite showing glimpses of promise with five top-10 finishes in his final eight races, Wallace’s season lacked the one thing NASCAR values most—victories. Wallace did not secure any wins during the regular season, with only one stage win and three DNFs caused by incidents involving other drivers. Jeff Gluck emphasized on ‘The Teardown’ podcast that next year Wallace needs to focus solely on winning:
“Next year, Bubba’s just gotta come out and don’t even worry about the points. Just go for wins. His car has had the capability of winning.”
Wallace’s journey at 23XI Racing has been a bumpy one. Now in his fourth year with the team, he has only made the playoffs once. In contrast, his teammate Reddick has won two races per year for the last two seasons and clinched the regular-season title this year.
Experts have identified key areas for improvement for Wallace and his team. Jordan Bianchi pointed out the lack of stage points as a major issue:
“One stage win this year. This team has not done a very good job, not just winning stages, but even in collecting stage points.”
Wallace also had an inconsistent stretch during the season, finishing outside the top 10 in eight out of nine races, including at tracks where he has previously performed well like Talladega, Kansas, and Charlotte. Bianchi argued that consistency is crucial:
“You have to take this six-race stretch where he’s run well and do that over the course of 26 races.”
The pressure on Wallace is mounting as his fourth season with 23XI Racing concludes. With only two career wins, the comparison to his more successful teammate Reddick is difficult. Bianchi highlighted the challenges Wallace has faced, including bad luck with incidents on the track, but stressed that some of the team’s struggles have been preventable:
“You can’t control getting wrecked at Michigan when you’ve got a fast racecar, but sometimes they don’t do a good enough job of staying on top of things, and the car fades a little bit.”
Wallace has often found himself in unfortunate situations, caught in the middle of the pack where bad luck tends to strike, and the team will need to work on avoiding these scenarios in the future to stay competitive.
