Bubba Wallace needed a solid run in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway this past Saturday to qualify for the Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Wallace did just enough to advance, picking up a P14 result and finishing four points above two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano to secure his spot in the next round of the playoffs. Former NASCAR driver and current NBC Sports analyst Kyle Petty came away impressed by Wallace’s run at Bristol, and broke it all down in his post-race recap.
“Bubba Wallace makes the playoff,” Petty said. “Great call by Bootie Barker; great drive by Bubba Wallace. They did it in the first segment of the race. They scored eight bonus points. He got in by four. That’s all he needed the rest of the day was to just run a solid race.”
Bubba Wallace gaining momentum heading into Round of 12
In just his third season behind the wheel of the No. 23 Toyota for 23XI Racing, Wallace still has a chance to win his first-career Cup Series championship. While Wallace remains winless on the season, it certainly doesn’t diminish what has been a successful season for the 29-year-old.
Ever the polarizing figure, Wallace was met with a chorus of boos as he climbed from his race car. That didn’t faze Wallace, who fed off the negative energy from the crowd.
“God I love that s**t right there,” Wallace said. “Counted us out. Like Coco Gauff said, all they’re doing is adding fuel to the fire, I love it. Love where I’m at in this team. Wish mom and dad and my sister were here to celebrate with me. I’m in a career year. Just gotta keep it going, appreciate all the partners involved. Columbia’s done great when they’re on the car, I hate it for them last week.
“I’m mentally exhausted, I’m wore out, gave it our all there. Battled hard and executed and that’s what you gotta do. So, we know next week’s a reset and we just gotta go out and have some fun and work our asses off. Thank you to the ones that believe in me, keep it going and yeah, onto next week.”