While some may find it hard to believe, Steve Letarte and Kyle Petty are serious about Bubba Wallace needing to be taken seriously in the NASCAR Cup playoffs.
Advertisement
Wallace is fourth in the standings heading into Saturday night’s final race of the opening Round of 16. Although there’s still a very slight mathematical chance that he could finish dead last in the race (which could eliminate him from advancing), it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that Wallace will indeed advance to the next round, the Round of 12, which begins next weekend in New Hampshire.
“I don’t think they’re to the level of the 19 (Chase Briscoe) and the 11 (Denny Hamlin), but I think they are playing their best, and that’s the 23 of Bubba Wallace,” Letarte said after this past Sunday’s race at Gateway on the Inside the Race podcast. “In the first two weeks, at Darlington Bubba Wallace was sixth. He won Stage Two and finished eighth (at Gateway).
“So look, I’m not saying they’re the 19 and the 11 speed yet, and remember at Richmond, they could have been a winner at Richmond and they had a pit road issue but were in the mix there (finished 28th and then crashed and finished 37th in the regular season finale at Daytona).”
Wallace is in only the second Cup playoffs of his career
This is only the second time Wallace has qualified for the Cup playoffs in his eight NASCAR Cup seasons. The first time was 2023 when he finished 10th.
Letarte continued, “I think the 23 car, remember, this is the first time he’s ever won his way into the playoffs (by virtue of winning the Brickyard 400). The last time (2023) he kind of got in on points. He’s in a great mindset and this 23 team is giving their best at the best time. That’s what I would say.”
But there’s a caveat of sorts in Letarte’s mind: after all, this is still Bubba Wallace. But at the same time, he’s for real and he’s also ahead of his 23XI Racing teammate, Tyler Reddick, who comes to Bristol in seventh place in the standings, but could still miss advancing to the Round of 12 as well if he finishes last in Saturday night’s race.
“How long that carries him, I don’t know,” Letarte said of Wallace. “But right now, he is going to go to Bristol and enjoy himself. Last time he had to go to Bristol and sweat through a pressure cooker. So, I think the 23’s given us his best at the correct time.”
Petty is also of the same mindset as Letarte when it comes to Wallace. He said, “I 100% agree with that because he’s one of those teams that was in the playoffs and we talked about Darlington and you talk about certain things and you say, ‘Okay, but you never think about him making it to Phoenix or being there, and he is making us talk about him.’
“His fans love him and they were going to talk about him and cuss us no matter what, but he’s making everybody take notice of him. So yeah, I don’t put him with Briscoe or with Hamlin, but by God, he’s knocking on that door. He’s wanting in that place.”
