Bubba Wallace Searches for Consistency After Top 10 Finish at Nashville Amid Dismal Finishes of Late

Bubba Wallace surged from outside the top 10 to a strong P6 finish at Nashville Superspeedway, a big improvement after three dismal weeks with finishes outside the top 30 at Texas, Kansas, and Charlotte. But with this resurgence, Wallace aims to focus on consistency.

Early in Sunday’s race, a Stage 1 pit road speeding penalty dropped Wallace deep into the pack and a lap down. Yet, after earning a free pass on Lap 104 due to multiple cautions and fighting back through the field, Wallace ultimately salvaged an impressive finish. Overcoming a mountain of adversity, the 23XI Racing driver expressed pride in his team’s resolve.

Determined to sustain this momentum, Wallace remarked, “After this back-to-back top three finishes [Homestead-Miami and Martinsville], I expect that [the Nashville performance] every week…

“We are confident in this team to continue to get finishes like this in a consistent manner, not the balance and back and forth that everybody’s used to for the #23. So I’m glad… great start to June.”

 

Having once risen as high as fifth in the Cup Series standings this season, Wallace endured a dry spell, posting only one top-10 in six races prior to Nashville. However, with his fifth top-10 of the season now secured, Wallace and the whole No. 23 team are finally building momentum.

Currently, Wallace sits 10th in the Cup Series standings, 204 points adrift of leader William Byron, but 56 points clear of the playoff cut line with 12 races remaining in the regular season.

Next weekend, he’ll tackle the Michigan International Speedway — a track where he faces an uphill battle for a top-five or even a top-10 finish, given its historically unforgiving nature.

Wallace’s average finish at Michigan stands at 19.2 over 11 starts, with just one top-five and two top-10 finishes to date. His most recent top-five there came in 2022 (P2), while his past two outings yielded P18 and P26 finishes.