Bubba Wallace Insider Refuses to Explain Las Vegas Mishap

23XI Racing needs to level up their pit game and, more so, for the #23 team. Everyone in NASCAR knows that this is not the first time Bubba Wallace experienced problems on the pit road. However, his crew chief revealed to SiriusXM NASCAR radio that it wasn’t anything egregious this time and said that the mistake was “a subtle thing”. But what was this subtle thing that had Wallace go home with a 35th-place finish despite no fault of his own?

But first, let’s recap what happened.

After having registered two top 5s in the first two races of the season, the Alabama native was looking forward to his first win of the season and also punching the ticket to his second consecutive playoff appearance. However, in stage 2 of the race, his pit crew missed out on removing one of the lug nuts off of his left front tire during a green-flag stop.

Later, the crew had to undergo a three-tier replacement and ultimately, had to cut the lug nut off to make the necessary adjustments. This made the #23 driver fall 13 laps behind the leaders. But how could a mistake so silly even happen in the first place? Yes, to make an error is human, but unfortunately, in a fast-paced sport like NASCAR, the room for error is just non-existent.

Interestingly, Bootie Barker didn’t pinpoint the exact issue. “It’d probably be foolish for me to describe it so well because I don’t really want to help my competitors,” said the veteran crew chief. “I’d like my competitors to have the same thing happen to them. It wasn’t anything egregious, it wasn’t anything like, man what are you doing, it was just a subtle thing, a subtle thing in time and it caused something that I wouldn’t believe but she got on there.”

New paint scheme for the Bubba Wallace in Phoenix

It’s not unusual for a new paint scheme to rekindle the hopes of winning a race in the minds of the driver and, with that, the fans. The same could very well be the case for Bubba Wallace with his new paint scheme for Phoenix, one which is going to be extra special, as the US Air Force is Wallace’s primary sponsor.

“It’s really special to once again be partnered with the men and women who make up the United States Air Force,” Wallace said about the collaboration. “My previous experience with the folks from the Air Force was awesome, and I had the chance to meet a lot of great Airmen who do some amazing things each and every day. I’m looking forward to welcoming them to 23XI and showing them what we’re all about as we work together to try and accomplish the impossible.”

Although not overly stylish, the blue and gray paint on the Toyota Camry XSE, along with the logo of the United States Air Force, looks crisp indeed. So could Bubba Wallace sail to the victory lane at Phoenix with his revamped machine?

Only time will tell.