Bubba Wallace is as aware as anyone in the Toyota Racing camp that the stretch of races in the NASCAR Cup Series lays out perfectly over the next month.
Given that, the agenda is simple: don’t fumble.
“We’re all hyper-sensitive about where we’re at,” Wallace said at Richmond Raceway about his 23XI Racing team.
Richmond’s Toyota Owners 400 (Sunday, 7 p.m. ET, FOX) is the first stop where a Toyota driver has pulled into victory lane in five of the last 10 races. Wallace led 80 laps at Richmond Raceway in the summer race last season.
Sitting 18th in the championship standings, Wallace has two top-10 finishes with 21 laps led. He’s earned just 12 stage points. The sluggish start Wallace, crew chief Bootie Barker and the No. 23 team have had is another reason the stretch ahead sets up well and is all the more critical.
“After race four, we were having a come-to-Jesus meeting,” Wallace said. “I don’t care that it’s early (in the year). It’s the same start that I’ve always had, and I said I didn’t want that. So, we’re looking to turn it around.”
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Wallace initiated the meeting. The season had started with back-to-back fifth-place finishes before a stuck lug nut in Las Vegas cost Wallace multiple laps and resulted in a 35th-place finish. It was a 16th-place result at Phoenix Raceway. A flat tire cost the team at Bristol Motor Speedway (29th).
“We had two, three races where stuff would happen, and we’re finishing last or wherever,” Wallace said. “So, we have to get our stuff together. I just set the tone (with the meeting).”
Martinsville Speedway (April 7), Texas Motor Speedway (April 14), Talladega Superspeedway (April 21), Dover Motor Speedway (April 28), and Kansas Speedway (May 5) take the series toward summer. Wallace won the pole, led 111 laps, and finished third at Texas last season. It was a race that got away when Wallace gave up control on a late-race restart. He is a former winner at Talladega and Kansas.
There has been a mix of races through the first six races. Wallace for a stretch of oval racing.
“I’m excited,” he said. “We’ll be good.”
It starts with Richmond, where Wallace qualified fifth.
“Denny [Hamlin] said the next five weeks there is no reason why Toyota shouldn’t be in victory lane, so make sure it’s one of ours,” Wallace said. “So that’s enough motivation to go out and get the job done. We learned a lot here in the fall; got behind on a little bit of strategy, but I think it’s a new opportunity for us.
“We’re really invested (in) what we need to do for this weekend.”