Bubba Wallace has recently hinted more than once at needing “a generational run” to claw back into the thick of the NASCAR Cup Series postseason. The three Chase presented by Mobil 1 races so far have produced a pair of top-10 finishes for Wallace, resulting in measured, forward movement from his 14th-seeded start to his current perch of 10th in the standings.
Turning the championship hunt on its head will require more than mere consistency, Wallace says, and the timing is ripe for a fall harvest.
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This weekend’s trip to Kansas Speedway looms as an opportunity for Wallace and his 23XI Racing group as The Chase enters a pivotal three-race stretch of intermediate-sized tracks. Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) marks the fourth of 10 Chase events, held at the site of one of Wallace’s three career Cup Series wins.
An encore of that 2022 triumph would be timely on many levels, potentially even generational.
“I think for us it’s winning. Winning Sunday ultimately flips the script for all of us, gets us on the right track to back up that quote,” Wallace said in a Wednesday video conference. “Yeah, I mean from 14th to 10th is a run. It’s not generational, but I think there’s obviously a couple spots in front of us that are easy to grab, and yeah, we’ve just got to keep pressing forward. But a win at Kansas, a solid 50- to 60-point day at Kansas will also start that trend.“
In the same breath, Wallace acknowledged the strength of the competition that’s positioned ahead of him. Kyle Larson’s title defense has come to life with a win two weeks ago at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, and a newfound outlook in the points lead following Bristol Motor Speedway. Denny Hamlin still packs a pop, just one point back as a four-time winner this year, and Joey Logano lurks in third place with a groundswell of progress in recent weeks, capped by his win last weekend at Bristol. A half-dozen more heavy hitters stand between Wallace and that top trio.
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But Wallace says he’s taken heart in the merits of the new postseason format, offering a reminder that in recent years, Bristol’s night bout coincided with playoff elimination and the oftentimes fierce scramble to keep title hopes alive. The Chase, he says, provides a chance to make hay over a more sustained span, especially with a bigger points premium for winning.
“It still shows that we have a chance,” Wallace said. “You know, we’re not kicked out of the standings. We’re 92 points out, which is a big stretch, but anything can happen. You go off and rattle off two wins here with 50- to 60-point days, and that gap shrinks quick. So I have the confidence in our people and what they’re bringing to the race track, and ultimately the end recipe, the main ingredient is me. … I’m excited to take on that task and go to tracks that we were really, really fast at — Kansas, obviously, being one of our favorites. Yeah, I feel a little bit less stress knowing that we still have a shot with seven races to go.”
Two drivers ranked ahead of Wallace, you may have heard, have been in the news lately. An on-track squabble last Saturday night between Ryan Blaney (6th in points) and Carson Hocevar (8th) escalated into highly publicized post-race fisticuffs between the two on Bristol’s emotionally charged pit road.
The story of the week hit home for Wallace, whose well-established friendship with Blaney runs deep. Wallace said he was surprised by how the confrontation unfolded as Blaney’s usually mild-mannered nature reached a boil, but he also acknowledged how tensions had built up with Hocevar’s aggressive tendencies, saying, “good on him for being the one to actually do something, try and do something about it.”
Wallace had said post-race at Bristol that he hoped to catch up with Blaney over a beer to get his side of the story.
“I did text him after the race when I got back home at whatever it was, 2 a.m., and you could tell he was just kind of filled with emotion, not really knowing what to think or why he reacted that way,” Wallace said. “And I told him, I was like, ‘Look, man, it’s been frustrating. Just about every week we’re talking about Hocevar, good or bad, and you had your tipping point.’ So, there it is. Does that make it any easier for him? I don’t know.”