After making it to the playoffs for the first time last year, Bubba Wallace hoped for some improvement in future seasons. But things seem to have gone wrong and team owner Denny Hamlin cannot understand why. On an episode of the ‘Actions Detrimental’ podcast, the 23XI Racing co-owner revealed that he was perplexed at how slow the #23 car has been this year.
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So far this year, Wallace has had an average finish of 16.86 with three top-five and seven top-10 finishes. He currently sits P17 on the points table, 45 points behind the cut line. Four spots are remaining in the playoffs where a driver can qualify on points. All that can change if there is a new race winner in the remainder of the regular season.
P10 at Pocono, we’ll take it. Congrats brother @Blaney 👊🏾 pic.twitter.com/BsbaZmbKkh
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) July 14, 2024
“It’s head-scratching a little bit that they just don’t have the pace that the other JGR or 23XI Toyotas have but they’re finishing to their best ability on race day. That’s really good. They’re executing well, that’s half the battle,” Hamlin said.
The 23XI co-owner doesn’t yet believe that Wallace is in a must-win situation just yet but a lot will depend on the next few races of the regular season. Earning as many points as possible will be key.
Is Daytona going to be Wallace’s best chance to win this season?
Five races remain in the regular season but for Bubba Wallace, Daytona might be the most crucial one. Considering Wallace has an edge on Superspeedway tracks, it might give the driver of the #23 car his best chance of qualifying for the playoffs. He has eight top-five finishes at the track including five in the top three.
The final regular season race of 2023 was held at the Daytona International Speedway. Wallace was a nervous wreck on that weekend. He was barely in the playoffs on points and needed to run as well as possible to keep the spot. He heaved a sigh of relief when the race was over and there was no new winner. Things are tougher this time around.
Coming from behind the cutline to make the playoffs is a difficult feat to achieve with five races remaining. The Daytona race is not going to be easy but one can safely assume that Bubba Wallace will give it everything he has. Of course, winning a race before that would make life a lot easier.
