Bubba Wallace Aims to Join Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, and Others in Elite NASCAR Club

Published 01/27/2021, 9:45 AM EST

Bubba Wallace quite clearly expressed his goals for the 2021 NASCAR season. Michael Jordan’s winning mentality seems to have translated nicely into Wallace’s thought process too as he aims to win at least two races in his debut year with 23XI Racing.

Wallace is yet to win a NASCAR Cup Series race. While winning multiple races in a season on the back of a winless run sounds like a daunting task, it is is actually quite achievable.

If Wallace really does manage to achieve his goals, he will join an elite list of fellow Cup Series stars who won multiple races despite going into the season without a single win.

Article continues below this ad

Which other drivers can Bubba Wallace join in this elite club?

The most recent example of the same is none other than reigning Cup champion, Chase Elliott. Back in 2018, Elliott won three races, which were his first three Cup Series visits to Victory Lane.

That season was the start of something special, and just two years later, he already has 11 Cup wins and a title. Wallace will be extremely glad if he can achieve something similar.

Elliott’s former Hendrick Motorsports teammate, seven-time title winner Jimmie Johnson, is another driver with three wins (in 2002) on the back of a winless run. Only two drivers have the most number of wins in a Cup season after going winless before that – Carl Edwards (in 2005), and Kurt Busch (2002) won four races each.

Kurt’s younger brother, Kyle Busch joins a host of superstar drivers with two wins each in their first-win seasons. This list includes Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000), Kevin Harvick (2001), Busch (2002), Denny Hamlin in 2006, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2017.

If Wallace can join these drivers in this elite club, his debut season with 23XI Racing will be a successful one for sure.

Article continues below this ad

All roads lead to the 2021 Daytona 500

The first stop in this task will be the iconic Daytona 500, where Wallace has registered his highest finish in the Cup Series so far. The then-Richard Petty Motorsports driver finished second in the 2018 Daytona 500.

Article continues below this ad

With the 23XI Racing car, there is no reason why Wallace cannot bag the biggest win of his career yet. However, he will have to face the challenge from one of his 23XI Racing owners, Denny Hamlin, who is the two-time defending champion in the season-opening race.

“Two Wins This Year” – Bubba Wallace Reveals Specific Goals For NASCAR Debut With 23XI Racing

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Aayush Majumdar is a NASCAR content strategist, a Tennis Writer, and a sports analyst at EssentiallySports. He is well-tenured as a tennis and NASCAR writer, with over 900 articles across both sports. After pursuing a Post Graduate program in Sports Management, Aayush explored various roles in Sports Media, including a Sports Reporting role at a leading English daily.

Bubba Wallace Aims to Join Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, and Others in Elite NASCAR Club

Which other drivers can Bubba Wallace join in this elite club?

All roads lead to the 2021 Daytona 500

Trending

Uncertain “Political Environment” Cause Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing to Take a Major Sponsorship Hit

Dale Jr Unmasks Teresa Earnhardt’s Refusal to Sell Him His Late Father’s Prized Possession That Forced Relocation Move

Dale Earnhardt Jr Believes Chase Elliott’s Nemesis From Last Season Is Very Close to Making Texas Whole Again

NASCAR Fans Sarcastically Mourn the Loss of Kyle Larson as Talladega Takes a Hilarious Dig at Taylor Swift’s ‘Leaked’ Album

“I Didn’t Know Where the Crash Was”: Kyle Busch Breaks Down the Late Move Between Ross Chastain and William Byron