DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. –Bubba Wallace Entered this year believing the 2023 NASCAR Cup Season would be his best yet.
It’s one thing for an athlete to recite that sentiment as part of the pre-season hype. It’s a whole different mentality to embrace that mantra then invest in the tools and the resources to accomplish that goal.
Wallace has made the commitment and his effort is paying off.
“I think we’re sitting 14th in the points (current standings), we have a shot at being a part of the Playoffs, we have a shot at going really far in the Playoffs, I feel,” Wallace said. “We have a lot of tracks that suit us really well.”
Wallace missed the Playoffs last year but picked up a win at Kansas Speedway during the 10-race postseason.
“For some reason, I like to win in the Playoffs—and that doesn’t matter because (the regular season is) over,” he said. “But a win is a win, right? They can’t take that away from us, but we’re not a part of it.”
That could change on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. Wallace is currently in the final spot Playoffs based on points. The 23XI Racing driver holds a 32-point advantage over Ty Gibbs with the Coke Zero 400 remaining in the regular season to determine the Playoff contenders. A new winner could displace Wallace from the top 16.
With four previous top-five finishes at Daytona, including three second-place results, Wallace isn’t counting himself out.
“I have a lot of people telling me you can only control the things you can control,” Wallace said. “We’re going to have to put it all on the line this weekend and get ourselves locked in.”
Wallace refuses to go down without a fight. In years past, the driver himself might have been his greatest nemesis. While he was beloved within his own circle, Wallace established barriers to outsiders often seeming gruff, aloof and sometimes downright negative.
The Wallace of late is almost unrecognizable from a year ago. A change in mind-set has elevated his performance—and confidence—dramatically.
“These races are super long,” Wallace said. “Having the mental capacity of knowing, ‘you’re going to have to fight for it, it’s not just going to happen,’ has helped me tremendously to manage races.
“It’s not over until it’s over—and you have to hold on to that mentality…having that knowledge is key.”
Wallace admits that being hesitant to ask others for help has impeded his progress in NASCAR. Despite having team owner Denny Hamlin, who has 50 Cup wins, or former champion Kurt Busch at his disposal, leaning on the veterans for counsel hasn’t jived with the driver.
However, after a disappointing run at the Indianapolis Road Course two weeks ago, Wallace reached out to IndyCar champ Scott Dixon for advice and support prior to last weekend’s Go Bowling at the Glen. Steve Lauletta, president of 23XI and former principal for Ganassi Racing, connected the two drivers.
“I’m not the type to call and say, ‘Hey, help me,’ right,” Wallace said. “That’s been a downfall of me career path ever since I got started. It was just me, my dad and Chris, the guy who got us started, and we would just all figure it out together. I wouldn’t go to other drivers, we would just figure it out—even if we stayed all night to figure it out.
“I waited until after practice and qualifying so I had some ammunition for him to go over with to talk about. It’s different—a Cup car and an Indy car—but certain things you look out for while driving can apply to a Cup car. But it was the mental side. I told myself, ‘I was going to crash every lap. I have no idea what I’m doing.’ He was like, ‘That has to end right now.’ I thought that was pretty powerful.”
A 12th-place finish last Sunday at Watkins Glen might not be a big deal to an outsider looking at stats, but following four finishes of 23rd or worse at the iconic circuit, the performance was a momentum builder for Wallace.
After six Cup seasons with two organizations and four different crew chiefs, the driver felt like his words mattered in the Monday morning debrief following a road course race.
“I was actually able to talk about our car and where we might be better,” Wallace said. “You earned a seat at the head table, so that was nice. Proud of the effort we put in to get there, everything kind of matching up. As important as track position was, we were able to hang on.
“I think one of my downfalls with road course racing is the actual racecraft and racing around one another. I got passed a couple of times and didn’t bleed, right? We stayed in the same area and continue to fight. Made some passes late in the race, so that was good. All around solid weekend. So that was a great confidence booster.”
Hamlin has noticed the change in Wallace as well. Now in his third season behind the wheel of the No. 23 Toyota the consistency in both qualifying and finishes has picked up significantly.
“I’m rooting for Bubba,” Hamlin said on his weekly podcast Actions Detrimental. “I want him to run any race he needs to run to get himself into the Playoffs. I think he deserves it. I think he’s been working really hard. All that emotion he had after Watkins Glen? That emotion stems from someone that’s working really, really hard and he’s finally seeing results. He finished 12th but he ran in the top 10 both stages—legitimately. It’s been a long damn time, maybe never for Bubba on a road course.
“I’m proud of him, I’m proud of the work that he’s putting in. We had a lot of talk and dialogue before the race about what we see and he’s more open to showing humility and wanting to get better. He’s not defensive. When we first started working with him, I noticed a little bit of a trait where when things didn’t go right it was, ‘Where can we point the finger?’
“He’s put this team on his shoulders. He’s grown up. He’s being a man. He and Amanda got married. I think that was a good thing for him. I’m really proud of the man he’s becoming, the leader he’s becoming, the competitor that he’s becoming. He’s continuing to get better.”
Learning to deal with the pressure has been an element of the learning process as well. Last year’s owner’s championship battle, when Wallace filled in for the sidelined Kurt Busch behind the wheel of the No. 45 Toyota, should benefit the 29-year-old if he qualifies for the Playoffs. But first Wallace knows he must lock himself in.
“Everyone is in a must-win situation,” Wallace said. “If you’re not locked in, you’re in a must-win situation. The last race is Daytona and we’ve seen surprise winners. No one is safe until the race is over with. We’re hoping we can do everything right, continue to get stage points. And if there’s a new winner, it has to be the 23 car.
“Other than that, everyone is fighting for the same real estate.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
