What was arguably Bubba Wallace’s most spectacular season in the NASCAR Cup Series ended with an even more disappointing thud. Having earned the biggest win of his Cup career a little over two months ago with a triumph in the Brickyard 400, the driver of the No. 23 Toyota likely had images of holding the Cup championship trophy following the season finale at Phoenix Raceway in early November.
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Instead, Wallace will ultimately wind up finishing no higher than ninth place (he’s currently 10th after the points were reset after Sunday’s race at the Roval).
Wallace finished 15th, while 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick, who started on the pole, finished 10th, knocking both drivers out of the remainder of the playoffs. Reddick is ninth in the standings, for what it’s worth — which, right now, isn’t much.
This marks the third straight year Wallace has qualified for the playoffs and the third straight year he has come up short.
“It is just frustrating,” Wallace said. “It is back to how I was a couple of years ago. Frustrated at myself, just knowing what was on the line, and didn’t produce. “But it wasn’t for a lack of effort. I appreciate everyone on this Toyota team for pushing hard. This one sucks worse than last week for sure. I had high hopes coming in here, and it is what it is.”
It was just the latest in a lengthy string of disappointments for both drivers and the team, both on and off the racetrack.
The ongoing battle with NASCAR over alleged antitrust violations related to the sport’s charter system, and the possibility that both 23XI and Front Row Motorsports could lose their six combined team charters if NASCAR prevails in its lawsuit against them, has weighed heavily on both teams, particularly 23XI, since both its drivers made the playoffs while no FRM driver did.
It didn’t help when, late on Friday afternoon, NASCAR asked a judge for a summary judgment, which would effectively dismiss 23XI and FRM’s lawsuit, meaning NASCAR would emerge victorious.
Even though four races remain in the 2025 Cup season, more uncertainty still lies ahead for Wallace, Reddick, and their respective teams. 23XI primary owner Michael Jordan has threatened to shut down his entire organization if NASCAR prevails in the ongoing legal battle.
Further, if that were to happen, where would Wallace and Reddick find new racing homes for 2026 at this late date?
Wallace tried to cast aspersions on the tires used last week at Kansas and Sunday at Charlotte for his deficiencies, as well as on himself and his boss, Denny Hamlin, saying, “both suck on road courses and we can’t save tires on road courses.”
But looking at the bigger picture, the future or potential lack thereof for 23XI Racing, the season is essentially over for Wallace, even with four races still remaining. The best he and Reddick (who remains winless this season) can do now is attempt to play spoiler in the final four races: Las Vegas, Talladega, Martinsville, and Phoenix.
