Bubba Wallace crossed the line in second at the inaugural Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado, completing a historic 1–2 finish for 23XI Racing behind teammate Corey Heim. But more than the result itself, Wallace left believing the race may have permanently changed the way he sees himself on road courses.

In an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Wallace said, “Am I complaining about second? No! On a road course? Hell no!! I’ll take it…we’ll come back stronger and continue to push the needle forward. We know we can win. Maybe I can win a road course now after today.”

That last line stood out because road racing has never exactly been Bubba Wallace’s comfort zone. Before San Diego, Wallace had made 40 Cup Series starts on road and street courses. But, in those forty starts, he had only one top-five finish and four total top 10s to his name. His average finish stood at 22. These weekends were usually about survival, minimizing damage, and getting back to oval racing.

And this one at the Naval Base Coronado looked no different at first. Bubba Wallace had started 12th, and he quietly moved forward in the opening laps. By Lap 17, he was comfortably running inside the top 10 when the team brought the No. 23 Toyota to pit road for service.

Then everything unraveled. When the pit cycles settled, Wallace was all the way back in 31st. However, there was something worse for Bubba to handle. Upon exiting, the right front felt loose and eventually detached between turns 9 and 10, which forced him to pit road again. What followed became one of the biggest setbacks of the race.

Bubba Wallace was hit with a costly two-lap penalty while the team repaired splitter damage on pit road. At that point, a top 10 felt optimistic. But caution flags opened the door. Bubba Wallace grabbed free passes, fought to get back onto the lead lap, and slowly worked through the field. Instead of forcing mistakes, he stayed patient and methodically climbed.

With fewer than 12 laps remaining in the final green-flag run, Bubba Wallace suddenly found himself back inside the top five. Then, the chaos ahead changed everything (in a positive way). Teammates Corey Heim and Tyler Reddick were battling for the lead when Reddick’s tire failed with two laps remaining.

Bubba Wallace quickly slipped through and inherited the second spot vacated by Reddick. After starting near the front, falling outside the top 30, serving a penalty, and clawing back all afternoon, the Alabama native crossed the line runner-up to Corey Heim.

The result moved Wallace up two spots to 11th in the standings and marked his second top-three finish in the last three weeks. Doing it on a temporary military-base street circuit (a place nobody had raced before) might matter even more. Now comes the next test for Bubba. If San Diego changed Wallace’s trajectory, Sonoma Raceway will be where he proves it.

Wallace celebrates 23XI’s big day while making his own goal clear

Bubba Wallace’s second-place finish gave him one of his strongest road-course results ever, but his reaction afterward showed where his mind still was.

“My body language and facial expression will not show it, but I’m really excited for Corey and [crew chief Bootie Barker], getting him back to victory lane,” Wallace said. “But being a winner in the Cup Series is something that we all want to achieve.”

Driving the No. 67 Toyota in only his 13th career Cup Series start, Heim survived the chaos of the inaugural San Diego race and capitalized late when Tyler Reddick’s challenge unraveled. The 23-year-old kept himself out of trouble for most of the afternoon, stayed in contention, and took control of the race with just a few laps remaining.

Heim’s win completed a historic 1–2 finish for the organization with Wallace behind him, proving the team had pace across multiple cars on one of the most technical tracks NASCAR has visited. It also gave crew chief Bootie Barker a return to victory lane.

Coincidentally, on October 4, 2021, Bubba Wallace won the rain-shortened Yella Wood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, earning Barker his first victory as a Cup crew chief and 23XI Racing’s first victory. After years of ups and downs, the 2024 Martinsville playoff race was Barker’s final race as Wallace’s crew chief.

Now, less than two years later, Barker was back in victory lane, this time with Corey Heim. For Bubba Wallace, that probably made the emotions even more complicated. He could celebrate seeing someone he once won with return to the top while also being reminded of what winning feels like and how long it has been since his last trip there.