After a solid couple of races in the 2024 season, Bubba Wallace stumbled over his next four starts. Now heading to Richmond for the seventh race of the season, he spoke to the press and revealed how the far-from-ideal beginning forced him to call an emergency meeting with his entire team, including co-owner Denny Hamlin, after his race in the Phoenix Raceway.
Advertisement
Wallace is currently on the heels of his best-ever season in the top tier of NASCAR. As is natural, expectations are that his performance this time around has to be better than it ever has been. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case. While he acknowledges the same, he is also filled with hope and optimism about the events that are up ahead.
Wallace told reporters, “We’re all hypersensitive about where we’re at, I think Denny (Hamlin) said to me the next five, six races are set up for Toyotas. What are we, seven races now — after race four we were having a ‘come to Jesus meeting.’ I don’t care that it’s early, it’s the same start as I’ve always had. We’re looking to turn it around.”
Despite the meeting that came after a disappointing 16th-place finish in Phoenix, Wallace did not crack the top lines in Bristol or COTA. The 0.750-mile oval in Richmond could pave the way for him to find his form again.
Why Denny Hamlin won’t be fond of Bubba Wallace’s season so far
Before the season began at Daytona, Hamlin made it abundantly clear to both his drivers at 23XI Racing that he wanted to see them run in the top 5 every week and consistently contend for the win. “We are not an underdog. This is not an underdog team anymore for sure. Patting ourselves on the back for running in the top 10, that’s a very modest goal. I expect them to contend for wins and top 5s on a regular basis,” he said on Actions Detrimental.
While Tyler Reddick has partly lived up to that expectation, Wallace has barely come close. He finished in 5th in the Daytona 500 and in the Atlanta Motor Speedway race that followed.
Over the next four races, his best finish was 15th place in COTA. Although he is excited about the oval track races that are coming up, he will face a challenge at Richmond on Sunday, for he has never finished in the top ten at the track.
