Bubba Wallace went deeper into NASCAR’s Playoffs than many thought he would. In fact, he very nearly moved onto the Round of 8.
On the strength of a strong record in NASCAR’s regular season, Wallace made it into the Playoffs on points. However, a roller coaster of races left him in a perilous position coming into the ROVAL. Wallace finished second in Stage 1 and seventh in Stage 2 and seemed to be holding his own. But on a restart with 22 laps to go Daniel Suarez was racing three wide for position, came into the backstretch chicane too hot sending Austin Cindric and Wallace through the chicane.
Wallace was forced to do a stop and go penalty on the frontstretch and rejoined the field in 31st. He managed to fight back to 16th, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in the Playoffs. He later said that not winning Texas where he started on pole and finished third didn’t help his round.
“That’s what I thought about after we got spun there,” Wallace said. “This weekend was incredible. Just from the effort from the team and from myself. Just all clicking, right? And it felt really good to be competitive and run upfront, pass cars on road courses and not be passed. There’s a lot to look at. What I analyze is what could I have done and not be in that situation? Could I have been faster and passed another car? How to be better to not put yourself — when you’re racing around there with squirrels.”
Wallace turned 30 Sunday and was hoping to score a win on at least move on in the Playoffs.
“It is what it is,” he said. “Just didn’t have enough and it wasn’t in the cards. I guess that’s what 30 is. I’m not mad. I’m happy for the team. I’m pumped for our season. It’s not over yet. I’m really excited for next week and Homestead and Martinsville. Phoenix, eh, I might just go on vacation (laughter). But we’ve still got four races to go out and do it. I’m proud of the team so I appreciate them.”
And that team in its second year is now the focus for Wallace. The 23XI Racing organization put both of its drivers into the Playoffs.
“We’re putting all of the cards in the right places.” Wallace said. “Usually, you couldn’t count on the 23 at a road course race, right? I don’t think you can say that anymore and I don’t think I can say I suck at road courses. Back-to-back really good runs at road courses. Finishes were okay, obviously not today. Just got to keep working on your craft. No matter how hard it can get you’ve got to keep working and trying to learn and be better.”
That’s why he didn’t seem too disappointed Sunday.
“Just proud of where we’re at and how far we’ve come in such a short amount of time,” he said. “The 45 (Tyler Reddick) is in, correct? So, that’s good. I knew we had our work cut out for us. We gave up a lot of points last weekend. The way I look at it is the last restart at Texas. I look at how I put ourselves in the situation to get wrecked today. So, need to work on that, need to be better. Need to look at what the 45 did. He passed cars and he was up there in two laps, right? Just a bummer, but a lot to be proud of. I can actually focus on the positives out of here. Qualifying fourth, top of the board in practice, stage points.”
“It’s a really good day. Hard to hang your head over that.”
“We weren’t supposed to be here according to a lot of people, but we proved them wrong and then proved a lot of people in the garage wrong that you can’t really count on the 23 at a road course race. That’s cool to say. Got to continue to work. I don’t think we’re a winning car yet, but we’re light years from where we were a few races ago.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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