[autotag]Bubba Wallace[/autotag] knew he needed a strong Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway to make the 2024 NASCAR playoffs, and for a while, that looked to be the case. Wallace earned a second-place finish in Stage 1 but fell off later in the race and finished ninth in Stage 2. Then, the driver of the No. 23 car was involved in a late wreck while trailing Chris Buescher for the final spot.
Neither Wallace nor Buescher made the playoffs after Chase Briscoe won the Southern 500, making the points irrelevant. Following the event, Wallace spoke to NASCAR.com about missing the 2024 NASCAR playoffs.
“We weren’t good enough, simple as that; last two-thirds of the race I said I hope [Denny Hamlin] and [Kyle Larson] stay up there because [Chase Briscoe] is fast,” Wallace said.
Left it all out there.@BubbaWallace | @USAFRecruiting pic.twitter.com/jxdE3K0rNq
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) September 2, 2024
“Who won? The goalpost moved again. They were better and deserving so congrats to the No. 14 team. We come back tomorrow and gotta hit it harder than we did. That’s sports. You go up and down and round and round. Gotta put this weekend behind and put the disappointment behind of not making the playoffs and go give your all for the next 10 [races].”
Wallace finished the regular season with a 12th-place finish in the point standings, but it wasn’t enough after six drivers below him earned playoff spots. The driver of the No. 23 car had several missed opportunities throughout the 2024 season, but there should be optimism moving forward. Wallace has shown speed, and a win could come sooner rather than later.
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