Tag: Bubba Wallace

Noah Gragson addresses wreck with Bubba Wallace at New Hampshire

Noah Gragson addresses his wreck with Bubba Wallace at New Hampshire. Find out what Gragson said about his wreck with Wallace!

[autotag]Noah Gragson[/autotag] had an up-and-down day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but it got even worse after the rain delay. While driving on the Wet Weather Tires, Gragson got loose and went up the race track, taking out [autotag]Bubba Wallace[/autotag], Austin Dillon, and others. Wallace then proceeded to stop in front of the No. 10 pit box.

Following the event, Gragson talked about the accident and took the blame for wrecking himself and Wallace. The driver of the No. 10 car simply made a mistake at New Hampshire.

“I just lacked grip,” Gragson said. “Super loose all the way around the track. Must’ve hit the paint on entry to Turn 1 and not intentionally by any means with the No. 23 car. Just a mistake on my part. It was unfortunate and I apologize to the No. 23 guys for ruining their day. That’s obviously not what we want to do and not what I want to do. It was completely unintentional.”

Gragson came home in 27th place, while Wallace finished in 34th place. It was a massive hit for Wallace, who now sits 13 points below the playoff cut-line. Gragson’s apology to the 23XI Racing driver is good, but it doesn’t take away from what happened. Now, Gragson and Wallace must work to regain the points lost at New Hampshire.

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Bubba Wallace’s future with 23XI Racing receives a big update in 2024

Bubba Wallace’s future with 23XI Racing receives a big update in 2024. What is the latest on Wallace, who is scheduled to be a free agent?

[autotag]Bubba Wallace[/autotag] has been with [autotag]23XI Racing[/autotag] since Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan formed the organization for the 2021 NASCAR season. Since then, Wallace has won two races at Talladega Superspeedway in 2021 and Kansas Speedway in 2022. With the 23XI Racing driver in a contract year, will he return to the team in 2025?

According to The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi, “all indications” point to Wallace returning to the No. 23 car for 23XI Racing in 2025. Wallace and Tyler Reddick have been quick for the 23XI Racing, but the former has seen less success. Wallace only sits 13th in the point standings and hasn’t shown race-winning speed as much as Reddick.

However, the 30-year-old driver is a perfect fit and has found a home at 23XI Racing moving forward. Wallace is a playoff-caliber driver who should be among the final 16 competitors yearly. The expectations are the same for Wallace in 2024, and based on a recent report, those will stay in place for the 2025 season and beyond.

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Gibbs dominates All-Star Open, Wallace and Gragson advance

Ty Gibbs led every lap en route to winning the NASCAR All-Star Open to advance into Sunday night’s All-Star Race. Gibbs will be joined by Bubba Wallace, who finished second. The top two finishers from the All-Star Open advanced into the All-Star …

Ty Gibbs led every lap en route to winning the NASCAR All-Star Open to advance into Sunday night’s All-Star Race.

Gibbs will be joined by Bubba Wallace, who finished second. The top two finishers from the All-Star Open advanced into the All-Star Race.

“We were pretty good,” Gibbs said. “I feel like we were pretty solid, so it’s good to make it. It’s good to see Bubba make it, too, so hopefully we can go and win it. I think [Michael] Waltrip did it once, so it’d be cool to go win a million bucks and go buy some sprint cars or something.”

 

Josh Berry finished third and Justin Haley finished fourth. Noah Gragson finished fifth and was announced as the fan vote winner.

The All-Star Race field will have 20 drivers, with the additions of Gibbs’ and Wallace’s Toyota XSEs and Gragson’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse.

“We came from the back last year,” Wallace said. “So let’s do it again.”

There were two cautions in the 100-lap All-Star Open. Gibbs started from the pole and held the lead through the only pit stop when most of the field switched from the primary to the option tire.

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The mandatory four-tire pit stop came at the lap 50 break. Gibbs, Alex Bowman, and Wallace were the first three drivers off pit road.

Austin Cindric was the cause of the caution on lap 59. He was caught in the middle of Carson Hocevar and Noah Gragson coming off Turn 4, severely damaging his Ford Mustang Dark Horse.

Gibbs maintained control of the race off the restart with 36 laps to go, and Wallace moved into second place. Bowman began to fade after being moved by Berry for third place. Bowman finished sixth.

Chase Briscoe finished seventh, Ryan Preece, eighth, Austin Dillon, ninth, Carson Hocevar, 10th, Kaz Grala, 11th and Corey LaJoie, 12th.

It’s the second straight year Gibbs transferred into the All-Star Race from the Open. For Wallace, it’s his fourth appearance in the All-Star Race. Gragson makes the race for the second consecutive year as the fan vote winner.

“I appreciate all the fans; you guys [rock],” Gragson said. “We didn’t quite have what it took there in that race but you fans pulled through. Your support means everything.”

RESULTS

Bubba Wallace talks about second straight DNF of 2024 at Dover

Bubba Wallace talks about his second straight DNF of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season at Dover Motor Speedway.

[autotag]Bubba Wallace[/autotag] had a solid car that finished in 10th place in Stage 2 of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway, but it went quickly downhill. With 72 laps to go, Wallace exited Turn 2, looking down the track after Zane Smith and Tyler Reddick made contact below. The No. 23 car shot down the track and collected several drivers, such as William Byron and Christopher Bell.

Following the event, Wallace spoke to FOX Sports about the incident, which marks his second straight DNF after a streak of 30 consecutive races finished was broken at Talladega Superspeedway.

“You have the long ride over here on the golf cart to figure out what you want to say, and I guess turning 30, going to be a dad, you’ve got to be more mature,” Wallace said. “It’s a bummer. I hate it for our Xfinity, U.S. Air Force Toyota. Not the result we needed, back-to-back DNF’s.”

“[Crew chief Bootie Barker] said it perfect Monday. I was pissed off and frustrated after Talladega. He said, ‘We are going to have to grind our asses off for Dover, from practice, to qualifying, to the race. It’s not going to be pretty.’ I don’t think he meant that part, the wrecking out wasn’t going to be pretty, but we had to grind. I’m proud of the effort we put in every week, just unfortunate, no results to show for it. We will just go on to Kansas, where hopefully, we are not around any squirrels and go kick their ass.”

Wallace had a good streak of finishing races, but he will need to rebound at Kansas Speedway. The 23XI Racing driver has shown much speed throughout the year so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him enter victory lane at one of his best race tracks. For now, Wallace will look to right the ship and hope to finish Sunday afternoon’s race in Kansas.

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Bubba Wallace discusses surprising wreck at Talladega in 2024

Bubba Wallace discusses his surprising wreck with other Toyota drivers at Talladega Superspeedway. Find out what Wallace had to say!

The Toyota drivers had the perfect strategy in the Final Stage of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. The seven remaining drivers came down pit road and were going to force the hands of the other competitors. However, a massive wreck took out four of them while running single file entering Turn 3.

Following the accident, [autotag]Bubba Wallace[/autotag] was released from hte infield care center and talked about the shocking accident. Wallace was disappointed that his day was over in that fashion.

“We were all pushing really hard to keep our line going,” Wallace said. “We had a plan and just didn’t execute it as well as we should. Hate it for our Leidos team. Look forward to running these places and then you just get trapped in somebody else’s mess, but I hate it. It doesn’t make us look good at all. But all in all, we’ll just reset and go to [Dover Motor Speedway]. We’ve got a long way to go. We’re fine. Just frustrating.”

Wallace could have been battling with his teammate Tyler Reddick for the victory but ended up with a 36th-place finish. The driver of the No. 23 car was frustrated that Toyota messed up its strategy, especially at a track where he had seen so much success in the past. As Wallace said, the No. 23 team will now focus on the weekend ahead at Dover Motor Speedway.

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Bubba Wallace discusses his strong day at Martinsville in April 2024

Bubba Wallace discusses his strong day at Martinsville Speedway in April 2024. Find out what Wallace had to say about his top-5 finish!

[autotag]Bubba Wallace[/autotag] had a very solid day at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon, and it was very much needed. Wallace started on the front row and finished in fourth place. However, the driver of the No. 23 car was up front all day after almost beating Kyle Larson for the Stage 1 victory and Denny Hamlin for the Stage 2 victory.

Wallace showed a lot of speed after five straight finishes of 13th or worse. Following the event, the 23XI Racing driver spoke about his day at Martinsville, and while it didn’t end up in victory lane, he was pretty happy about the result.

“Yeah, hats off to everybody at [23XI Racing],” Wallace said. “I appreciate all of the effort. We do a lot of stuff during the week, and I’m finally starting to understand that it all pays off. You’ve got to give the effort because these guys are busting their ass. It is days like this that you appreciate it. I appreciate all of these McDonald’s guys — and the men and women at the shop.”

“We needed that. My Toyota was strong today. We lost a little bit on that last stop. We got too free, but all in all, I was content in finishing sixth, and that’s why you never give up. Top-5, good day, and we will go on to [Texas Motor Speedway].”

Wallace has three top-5 finishes through eight races as the NASCAR Cup Series prepares for Texas Motor Speedway. The No. 23 car was close to entering victory lane in the fall race at Texas, so expectations are heightened this weekend. For now, Wallace needed a good, mistake-free run and was rewarded with a good top-5 finish.

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Wallace sees worthy result from strong Martinsville performance

Bubba Wallace had a question and kept asking those around him until he got an answer. “Where’d he finish?” Wallace asked of teammate Tyler Reddick while doing his required top five media obligations on pit road Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. “Was …

Bubba Wallace had a question and kept asking those around him until he got an answer.

“Where’d he finish?” Wallace asked of teammate Tyler Reddick while doing his required top five media obligations on pit road Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. “Was he [in the] top 10?”

Wallace, who finished fourth, then turned to his 23XI Racing public relations representative and asked the same question. The answer finally came: Reddick had finished seventh.

“Oh, wow. Proud of the little buddy,” Wallace playfully said. “I didn’t see him all day.”

The amusing exchange resulted from Wallace acknowledging that 23XI Racing performs well on short tracks but doesn’t have many results to reflect those performances. Sunday was Wallace’s best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series at the half-mile Martinsville Speedway in his 13 tries. Furthermore, it was his first top-five finish at Martinsville and just his third top-10.

“We do a lot of things that hurt our results, there’s no doubt about it,” Wallace said. “But we’re all taking big self-reflection [moments] over the last couple of months and being like, ‘Hey, let’s get our stuff together.’ And we know what we’re capable of. It’s days like this. I’ll continue to take top four finishes because eventually, your name will be thrown in the winner’s circle.”

The result came from a different feel Wallace had searched for in previous Martinsville Speedway races. He and the No. 45 team were contenders from the first on-track activity when he was second fastest overall in practice before qualifying second (after losing the pole to Kyle Larson by 0.001s).

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“A lot to build off, a lot to learn, a lot to debrief with the team,” Wallace said. “If we came back tomorrow, we’d be even better. But I appreciate everybody on this No. 23 team. The McDonald’s Toyota Camry was really, really good.

“It was a great showing here at Martinsville; I love this place and got to keep it going.”

Wallace had an average running position of fourth Sunday afternoon. He ran as high as second, but it was either second or third place that ended up being the ceiling. No matter how hard he ran or how close he got, even on the back bumper of Denny Hamlin at the end of the first stage, Wallace never cracked the threshold into the race lead.

“I know, I know,” he said with amusement. “I was trying so hard. I’d get to the leader’s back bumper too late in both stages. Hey that’s just something for us to continue to work on and be better.”

Wallace finished second in both stages. The race’s final caution with three laps to go was a turn of fortune for the No. 23, which was running sixth at the time. By choosing to restart as the third driver on the inside lane, Wallace was fifth for the final two laps, which he maintained.

“We had speed,” he said. “We had a lot of speed and it was fun to run up front and figure out what we needed to be better. I thought we were really good on the long run, but we got behind too early on the last stop and that just kind of set us apart. So, all in all, to come out top five was really good for us.”

Bubba Wallace apologizes to Kyle Larson after incident at Richmond

Bubba Wallace apologizes to Kyle Larson after their late-race incident at Richmond Raceway. Find out what Wallace said about the incident!

[autotag]Bubba Wallace[/autotag] was two laps away from a top-5 finish at Richmond Raceway on Easter Night, but a late-race accident prevented him from achieving it. Wallace got into Kyle Larson with two laps to go and spun the No. 5 car. This forced everyone to come down pit road, and Wallace lost several spots. After the final restart, the 23XI Racing driver came home with a 13th-place finish.

Following the event, Wallace discussed his incident with Larson with two laps to go. The driver of the No. 23 car took the blame and apologized to the No. 5 team, even though Larson finished in third place.

“I got loose, overcorrected into him, spun him out,” Wallace said. “Karma is a real thing. I would have been content running fifth but just got loose, and I apologize to the No. 5 team. It wasn’t intentional by any means. Karma is quick in this sport.”

Wallace needed a top-5 finish after failing to finish in the top 10 spots in the last four races. After having a strong car at Richmond, he has five straight finishes outside the top 10 spots. Wallace has shown speed but hasn’t earned finishes representative of his pace. Now, Wallace looks to Martinsville Speedway as the place to regain his momentum this weekend.

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Wallace sees upcoming NASCAR races as a chance for a season reset

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 …

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.”

Bubba Wallace slams Phoenix during NASCAR Cup Series event in 2024

Bubba Wallace slams Phoenix Raceway during the NASCAR Cup Series race last weekend. What did Wallace say about Phoenix?

[autotag]Bubba Wallace[/autotag] hasn’t been great at Phoenix Raceway in the past, but NASCAR Cup Series practice on Friday afternoon provided some optimism. However, it quickly diminished when Wallace qualified in 22nd place. The 23XI Racing driver never had the speed or track position to earn stage points or a top-10 finish.

During the race at Phoenix, Wallace had an interesting radio transmission. According to Alan Cavanna, Wallace said, “Whatever the hardest thing y’all done in life…It ain’t got [expletive] on trying to pass here in Phoenix.” The driver of the No. 23 car was clearly frustrated as NASCAR’s new short-track package didn’t accomplish what he wanted.

Historically, it has been incredibly hard to pass at Phoenix and Wallace appears to think the same. The hope is that NASCAR can fix the package, and adding horsepower could aid in those efforts if the current changes aren’t enough. NASCAR will get a closer and better look at the package during this weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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