Bubba Wallace is not letting the magnitude of Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Darlington Raceway weigh on his mind.
“I’m (more) stressed about being winless in damn near two seasons,” Wallace said. “That’s just a general overall. But the situation we’re in now compared to, let’s say this was Daytona last year or Bristol, the cutoff race, I have no stress compared to those last year. And I think that’s for the better. It’s allowing me to focus on the important things and the right things and everything we need to do to succeed.”
Wallace is 21 points out of the final spot on the Cup Series playoff grid. He is the first driver on the outside looking in and can mathematically earn a spot on points. But he is approaching the Southern 500 in must-win mode for his 23XI Racing team.
This is why, despite saying he doesn’t feel stressed, he’s not denying there is stress there. In his fourth season driving for 23XI Racing, Wallace is seeking just his second postseason berth. A year ago, Wallace made it on points when it came down to the final race of the regular season.
“You get down to crunch time and say we have a great first, second stage and things start to get tighter — you have to keep the emotions in check,” Wallace said. “I think I’ve learned that over the last couple of years; the races aren’t over until the checkered flag falls. So, whatever happens, if all four corners on the car are still intact and you’re capable of running fast laps, you have to.
“No matter how tough the going gets, you have to keep pushing. (But) stress right now? I feel good.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]
There are three spots unclaimed in the postseason field. Martin Truex Jr., Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher are the drivers on the positive side of the battle.
Darlington has been one of Wallace’s better racetracks over the last two years. He has four straight top-10 finishes at the facility in the last four races and has qualified eighth or better in the last three.
The situation Sunday night boils down to Wallace believing, “I need to (have) the best race I’ve ever had in my career to make the playoffs.
“And I don’t say that from a desperation mode. I say it as I’m confident in our team, in our ability, as long all outside factors execute — example, pit crew and strategy. Then there is no reason why we can’t be in victory lane at Darlington on Sunday. So that’s what we need to focus on and that’s where we’re at.”