All told, it’s been a very solid start to the season for the 23XI Racing wheelman Bubba Wallace. Aside from a pair of back-to-back horrible finishes — 34th at Darlington Raceway and a wreck of his own making at Martinsville that led to a 36th-place effort — the 10-year veteran has amassed one top five, five top 10s and two additional 11th-place finishes, good for seventh place in the overall standings.
The trouble is that his teammate, Tyler Reddick, has won a remarkable five of the first nine races and sits atop the points standings with a very healthy 105-point lead of essentially two full races. As well as Bubba has run this year, the utter dominance (in terms of wins if not necessarily laps led) of his teammate in the same equipment does cast something of a shade over his results.
Last weekend at Kansas Speedway was a milestone race for Wallace, marking his 300th start in the NASCAR Cup Series and his 187th race with 23XI Racing. His overall stats are respectable if not anywhere near elite. To date, Wallace has three wins, 28 top fives, 64 top 10s and three poles with 1178 laps led and an average finish of 19.5. In the last two seasons, he’s finished 11th (2024) and eighth (2025) in the full-season standings, and his win at the Brickyard 400 last season was the company’s only checkered flag of the year.
When asked about Reddick’s red-hot start by Steve Letarte, Wallace gave his trademark forthright answer.
“Incredible to see how we came off last year, just the Brickyard 400 [win], not downplaying that at all, but Reddick went winless,” Wallace said. “And then all of a sudden, it’s ‘who lit a fire under his ass?’ I think he took going winless to heart. I did it for three years. It’s hard, man. This sport is so hard. The conversations we had with leadership, the preseason meetings lit a fire under everyone.”
“[It’s a] hot start we’ve had. I’m happy for him, the team and his success,” Wallace continued. “Tyler and I have been great teammates. I’ve had no ‘why him?’ None of that. It’s man, when is it our turn? It’s not a woe is me thing, it’s understanding how tough this sport is and when you’re on it, you’re on it. We’re close, man. We’re getting back into form. I told my team, ‘if we can break through and get into the top five, it will be game over.'”
It’s refreshing to see this attitude from Wallace, who has in the past been criticized for his negative responses to certain situations and, at times, childish behavior. For example, take the $50K fine NASCAR levied on him for his post-race retaliation on Alex Bowman following an on-track in-race battle in Chicago in 2024, and then the one-race suspension in 2022 after he hooked Kyle Larson into the wall.
But as Denny Hamlin noted in September 2025, Wallace’s attitude has changed significantly in the past couple years.
“Bubba’s turnaround over the last few years has just been — I can’t believe it, truthfully,” Hamlin said. “The maturity he has shown; he’s been the lead car at 23XI, really the entire year. I think the 45 might have him on average finish because he doesn’t have as many DNFs, but the 23 has been the fastest freakin’ car we’ve got, and that’s something that just, I can’t believe it.
“Whether it’s Charles Denike and his setups or Bubba’s mentality, something changed over there that has made Bubba someone you’re going to have to contend with every single week,” Hamlin continued. “And you’re going to have to contend with him this weekend, by the way. If you haven’t seen his road-course skills, they’ve dramatically improved. I couldn’t be more proud of that 23 team and what they’re doing week in, week out.”
The simple truth is Wallace has always raced under immense pressure.
He is the first full-time Black driver in NASCAR since Wendell Scott in the 1970s, and it was his advocacy that saw the Confederate flag banned from the racetrack. Then, of course, there was the noose incident at Talladega. In addition, the hatred he receives on social media is beyond vitriolic. I expect there might be a few moronic comments on this column (although I truly hope not). He has also been open about his struggles with mental health and depression over the years, and despite what the haters will incorrectly say, the weight of the pressure must have felt all-encompassing at times. But Wallace has just got on with it and tried his best in a sport where failure is the norm.
Fatherhood has been another monumental factor in Bubba’s life. As any parent knows, your life is not your own once you have a child (at least not in the way it was), and as long-time spotter Freddie Kraft commented in September last year, “that little boy has done so much for him that it’s an incredible turnaround for Bubba.” Now, with a second child (his daughter Cameron Jade was born a month ago), there’s even more family business to take care of for Wallace.
So, while yes, Wallace is yet to notch a win in 2026 while his teammate hoovers them up seemingly for fun, he is still in a good spot. He’s running well, is solidly ensconced in the playoff field, and more importantly, he seems at peace with life. The wins will come soon enough.
Danny Peters has written for Frontstretch since 2006. An English transplant living in San Francisco, by way of New York City, he’s had an award-winning marketing career with some of the biggest companies sponsoring sports. Working with racers all over the country, his freelance writing has even reached outside the world of racing to include movie screenplays.
Who was the idiot “driver” who got the first wipe out started. None other than bubba
Bubba is not a wheelman, he is a driver. Why did you take all the other comments off !!!! Guess they were moronic. Take a look at what the Toyotas are doing this year. I’m going to say it again, he’s not in the same league as a Hamlin, Larson, Bell, etc etc..its the Toyota advantage the last two years.
Reminds me of the old saying “putting lipstick on a pig.”
i’m confused….bubba has had “no why him” moments? i think it was after reddicks’ second or third win that bubba looked inconsolable.
Your right, but won’t get acknowledged for it .