Bubba Wallace and 23XI Racing knew they would face challenges as a brand-new team in the NASCAR Cup Series this year. The team — owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin — knew success wouldn’t be instantaneous, especially without practice or qualifying sessions for most races this year as the result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
And with just three races remaining in the regular season, the No. 23 Toyota team has plenty of room for improvement.
Through the first 23 races of the season, Wallace is 21st in the driver standings and currently on the outside looking in at the 16-driver playoff picture. He and the team need a win in one of the next three races to guarantee their spot in the 10-race playoffs, leading up to the title race at Phoenix Raceway in November.
Finishes are all that really matter, and Wallace is averaging about 20th in that category. But he explained to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Wednesday where he feels the team is and why it’s having a better season than what his stats show.
ICYMI: @BubbaWallace talked to @TheJohnnyTV and @chocolatemyers3 on Tradin' Paint about the struggles @23XIRacing have faced in their first year as a team. pic.twitter.com/NQXAoN5jin
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) August 11, 2021
Still racing for his first Cup Series victory in his fourth full-time season, Wallace said:
“We all want to win, of course. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we show up every week, is to win. But there’s been a lot of things in our control and out of our control that have taken us out of having really good finishes.
“Have we had a winning car this year yet? No. Maybe for Daytona, yes, but other than that, we’ve had some top-5 moments. We’ve had a lot more top-10 moments than we’ve shown on paper, but it’s just been the new-team blues.”
Ahead of Sunday’s road-course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Wallace has just one top-5 and one top-10 finish from his fifth-place run at Pocono Raceway in June. Most recently, he and the team finished 23rd at Watkins Glen International last weekend. Not ideal, and he took some of the responsibility for 23XI Racing’s “growing pains” in its first season.
Wallace continued with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio:
“It’s not 100 percent execution, and that’s what takes us out — whether it’s my fault or the team’s fault. But at the end of the day, we’re all in it together, so it’s those growing pains that you have to get through. Proud of everybody continuing to show up each and every week with the right foot forward and the right mindset. We just gotta keep pushing through and keep building on that notebook. …
“We started on page one for 23XI Racing. It’s an honor for me to build that, but with that comes a lot of frustration, a lot of pressure, a lot of trying times. But when you surround yourself with the right team like we have, it makes those situations a little bit easier to navigate through.”
After the new road-course race at Indy this weekend, NASCAR is off to Michigan International Speedway and Daytona International Speedway to close out the regular season. The top-16 drivers will then compete for the championship in the playoffs this fall.
The Verizon 200 at the Brickyard is Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on NBC.
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