After enduring one of the most distracting seasons of his career, most notably the NASCAR vs. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit, Bubba Wallace is laser-focused on enjoying a significantly better season in 2026.

So much so that perhaps for the first time in his nine-year NASCAR Cup career, the driver of the No. 23 Toyota may have a legitimate chance at perhaps the most single-season success of his Cup career.

With the contentious lawsuit finally coming to an end after a nearly a year-and-a-half war of words, embarrassing text messages and a protracted court case that prompted both sides to reach a settlement rather than to keep fighting, Wallace and teammate Tyler Reddick can now finally have a full season of no distractions and total focus on winning races and a potential Cup championship for each other as well as the organization.

And it all starts this Sunday with the season-opening Daytona 500.

“I feel good about our chances,” Wallace said during this week’s Daytona 500 Media Day. “(I’m) getting a lot of signs that it’s going to be a good weekend. Don’t ask me what said signs were, but they were good ones.

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“We’ve obviously grown and matured as a team from last year and from the start of 23XI and the start of the 23 team, we’ve grown in a lot of spots.”

Wallace continually said throughout last season that the off-track legal issues were not a distraction to him and his team, but it’s hard to rationalize that or try not to think about what might happen once the case went to trial late last year.

So much rested on the trial, with team co-owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin both claiming that if 23XI Racing lost their lawsuit vs. NASCAR, it could potentially mean the end of the team.

Even with lawsuit contentiousness, Wallace had the second-best Cup season in 2025

Really, how can someone ignore or not be distracted by such a potential career-impacting outcome? But somehow, Wallace wound up having the second-best season performance of his Cup career. He settled at 11th position with 14 top-10s and six top-5s and led 378 laps. 

Wallace’s best season ever was in 2023, when he finished 10 and qualified for the NASCAR Cup playoffs for the first time ever. He fell backward in 2024, finishing 18, before rebounding in 2025, including the third and biggest win of his Cup career: capturing the Brickyard 400.

With the confidence obtained for winning one of NASCAR’s biggest races, Wallace said his goal for 2026 is simple – to win even more big races:

“To come into this year more confident and more focused,” the driver of the No. 23 Xfinity Toyota Camry XSE said. “We’ve just got to dot our I’s and cross our T’s. I think I say that every year here at Daytona 500 media day. We just have to put it all together.”

Wallace comes into 2026 in his second season with Charles Denike as crew chief, replacing veteran Bootie Barker, who was promoted within the organization after the 2024 season.

Wallace and Denike ready to build upon last season’s success in 2026

As good as Wallace and Denike worked together last season, they look to have an even better performance in 2026.

“Just the communication, you feel more confident in each other and that continues to evolve and grow over the years,” Wallace said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Year 1 or Year 20, you learn something new about the people you work with every day. It’s just being more comfortable and putting that all together.

“Charles is super easy going, I think I am too. We have a really good relationship that started right off the bat. That helps new pairings and new relationships. He’s been very confident in the work he’s been doing.

“He’s the type of person who takes his job very seriously. He pays attention to detail and I’m excited to have another trip around the sun with him.”

Tyler Reddick, meanwhile, suffered through the worst season of his six-season Cup tenure. After his career-best showing of making the playoffs and reaching the Championship Four, finishing fourth in 2024, Reddick’s fortunes went downward in 2025.

Having won at least two races in each season from 2022 through 2024, Reddick failed to reach victory lane last season and wound up with just seven top five finishes (including his best outcome of the season: second in the Daytona 500).

On top of this, to add to his problems, Reddick’s son, Rookie, had to undergo a serious surgery after a tumor enlarged Rookie’s heart and affected his kidney.

Wallace is optimistic that he can outdo what Reddick did in the 500 last year, and since there’s only one spot better, he can potentially envision himself in victory lane after Sunday’s race.

When asked if the 500 is as prestigious as it once was, Wallace said there’s no doubt about it.

“It is,” he said affirmatively. “It’s our biggest race of the year and the biggest purse we’ve had, which would be super nice to win.”

Wallace ready to add a second NASCAR Cup crown jewel win to his resume

A win on Sunday would give Wallace another of NASCAR’s crown jewel races, joining his triumph in last year’s Brickyard.

“That would be sick,” Wallace said with a smile. “You’ve got to do better than what I’ve been doing in the 500. I’ve gotten close. If we can put it all together then why not?”

Wallace has made eight starts in the 500, with two runner-up finishes (2018 and 2022). He crashed out just 27 laps into last year’s Great American Race, finishing a disappointing 37.

“(In his) first Daytona 500, I didn’t know what I was doing and wound up in second,” he laughed. “But then that one, the Penske cars were going to be tough to beat. Everything happens for a reason.”

Wallace has never won more than one race in any single season, something he anticipates he can change in a big way this season.

“Three (wins), which I think is very doable for us,” he said. “That’s a really competitive year.

“At the same time, you can’t win three races and wreck in the other 33 races. You got to put a good season together and make those three wins count. Just winning isn’t that good, but you got to put the whole season together too.”

23XI Racing wants to move into a more elite neighborhood of Cup success

That’s why Wallace is hoping to keep his momentum going forward, while at the same time he, Reddick, and part-time driver Corey Heim hope to take 23XI to the next level performance- and wins-wise.

“We want to disrupt the big three (JGR, Hendrick, Penske),” Wallace said with a confident air. “We want to put our name in that category, and they are really passionate about that … just high expectations.

“It starts with waking up with the right attitude and being present and being on time and giving it your all every day. How can you be better than the previous day? It’s understanding that mindset and adapting to that is going to be huge for us. Just keep pushing.

“This sport is really hard, the big three have been around for awhile. Key people come and go and they insert their philosophies. We are still growing but we’ve already done some pretty cool things in a short amount of time and we have to keep pushing for more.”