23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace could have won Sunday’s Cup Series race at the World Wide Technology Raceway had it not been for a restart that went haywire due to a gear issue. He finished eighth in the end, and while it was not the result he wanted, it was a win in the larger picture.
Advertisement
Wallace now sits 50 points above the playoff elimination line with one more race left in the Round of 16. Speaking to press members after the Enjoy Illinois 300, he expressed how he feels there is still a lot of work to do despite the comfortable position that he is in.
He said, “We got to get there first. It all starts with practice. Excited to go to Bristol. One of my favorite tracks… I like where we’re sitting, but still a lot of unfinished business.”
Notably, the gear issue occurred when he was leading the race. He was in the outside lane on the Lap 156 restart when it got stuck and stacked up the line behind him.
While it did not cause a crash, it handed over the control of the race to Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano. Wallace said about the move that led to the trouble, “I did it the restart before, and it was fine. I need to go back and study how to do it better, but I hate it because I don’t know if it caused [Larson] damage.”
“We’ve really gotta some work on the car to be able to pass here.”
“Its a car thing.”@BubbaWallace was pleased with his +50 gap heading into Bristol next weekend, but feels the tire did not improve the racing at Gateway.#NASCAR | #Gateway | @MtrsprtsToday pic.twitter.com/cR182Wec2q
— Tim Moore (@IveBeenTimMoore) September 7, 2025
Wallace did not lead any more laps throughout the race. By the end of the day, he’d led 73 laps, which was the second-highest for any driver on the day, and he won the second stage.
Thus far in the Round of 16, Wallace and his 23XI Racing crew have earned a total of 85 points. They are fourth on the playoff grid with the Bristol race left.
Wallace forced to explain himself to Larson
Following the incident on the restart, Wallace and Larson spoke to each other to sort things out between themselves. Larson had finished in 12th place.
Both drivers are in a good place to make it to the next round. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is third in the standings, 60 points above the playoff elimination line.
Bubba explains the restart incident to Larson pic.twitter.com/fMtAQGBcCi
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) September 7, 2025
Larson said about the incident, “It was a great race for us. We had a great, great car. Just a restart when the 23 (Wallace) wasn’t able to get going, I think it messed our strategy up and whatnot after that. That was unfortunate.”
The No. 5 Chevy driver is aiming to win his second Cup Series championship after securing his first in 2021.
