Bubba Wallace is perhaps not a fan favorite to win the Daytona 500. However, that doesn’t mean he cannot win it. Wallace has been strong in the restricted plate tracks before and as Steve Letarte, the once crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports and a veteran sportscaster, said, Wallace’s work on the speedways cannot be ignored.
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Some people say that he got lucky on the plate tracks. But in a fast-paced sport like NASCAR, which is outwardly competitive, one seldom gets lucky. “Bubba’s resume of work on the speedways can’t be ignored,” said Letarte. “There’s a lot of Bubba haters. It’s easy to say, oh he got lucky; you don’t get lucky these many times. Not that he’s won a bunch. But he’s been in what I like to call the picture. What’s the picture?”
“The picture is the last 5 miles of the speedway race.”
“I think that @BubbaWallace’s work on the speedways can’t be ignored.” 💪
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It’s true that the #23 driver has made some wrong decisions before. But making mistakes is a part of learning. “He’s learned…he’s gonna make better decisions; that’s part of maturing. So while I like Tyler Reddick because he did win the duel, I actually like Bubba over Tyler Reddick,” Letarte added.
He feels that while people like to hate Wallace, he should receive his due respect as a good plate racer.
How good is Bubba Wallace on the superspeedways?
Bubba Wallace has a pair of runner-up finishes (2018, 2022) in his six attempts at the Daytona 500. However, in his 11 starts at Talladega, the only time Wallace has finished higher than 14th is his win in the rain-shortened race in October 2021. Some might try to discredit his win since it was shortened by the rain.
And let’s not forget that Wallace was in a position to win last April’s race at Talladega Superspeedway, moments before he crashed out from the lead while trying to block a fast-approaching Ryan Blaney, making way for Kyle Busch to grab the checkered flag. Unfortunately, he had to settle for a P28 finish.
Can't hold back on the last lap. Here's a replay of the last-lap crash Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. pic.twitter.com/IoxjJwtaUp
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 23, 2023
While it’s not very common to hear Wallace as a favorite to win the 500, he does have two top-5 finishes in the summer race at Daytona International Speedway. In his most recent run at the 2.5-mile, high-banked trioval, i.e., the Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2, Wallace finished 11th, after being at the front for 21 laps, flaunting an average speed of 193.4 mph.
All things considered, it’s only a matter of time before we get to see how much Wallace has learned from his previous experiences and how much he has improved.
