Bubba Wallace probably saw the Kansas race as a key test. Where does 23XI Racing stack up in the pecking order? However, owing to recent crashes and DNFs, the echoes of past success were drowned out by present woes. The #23 car has had a solid track record at Kansas, winning in 2022 and finishing P4 last year. But after a disappointing P23 qualifying spot this time around, Wallace shed light on his car’s inconsistency that ruined some sweet memories. And, well, fans are just as surprised to see 23XI struggle so much.

Bubba Wallace has been keeping his cool, but it’s been tough for him 

“Getting kicked in the a** for the last two weeks, the only thing you can do is look forward to a place where you got a lot of success.” That was Wallace’s mindset coming into Kansas. After finishing 36th at Talladega and 32nd at Dover, Wallace and 23XI Racing have been in a bit of a slump, scraping together just 7 points from those races. This is a big drop from the 51 points he scored with a fourth-place finish at Martinsville and 40 points from a seventh-place run at Texas just a couple of weeks earlier. Kansas was supposed to be his bounce-back spot. At least, they’d hoped.

It wasn’t like Bubba Wallace and 23XI didn’t have pace in Talladega and Dover. They did. However, the 30-year-old admitted they “just haven’t been able to close out the deal.” Given his track record at Kansas, though, the #23 driver seemed confident coming into the AdventHealth 400. He’s had three top-10 finishes in his last 12 starts at Kansas, including a 10th place last spring. Considering this and Kansas popping up again in the playoffs, Wallace echoed a mantra similar to something his wife had said after Dover: “It’s a new week,” adding, “We’re excited to get to Kansas and turn the ship around.”

It wasn’t just Bubba Wallace catching all the hype; a bunch of NASCAR experts and insiders were also placing him high on their prediction lists. Plus, his crew chief, Bootie Barker, was feeling pretty good about their chances heading into Kansas. Despite a couple of DNFs right before, when Barker showed up on the MRN crew call, he was confident they didn’t need to switch up their driving style to succeed in Kansas.

He mentioned, “I have yet to talk to Bubba about it. I feel, we will see, right, if I’m right, but we don’t need to do anything different. Our pace and really our execution has been very good for the last five-six races. You know Talladega getting wrecked is one thing, Dover getting wrecked is another. When you look back at it, I don’t really know if we made any ‘mistakes’ to certain some things erase. So, I just say going into Kansas, don’t press. Just do what we do.“ In fact, Barker even tossed in, “I guess it’s just a good racetrack for us,“ talking up their track record at Kansas.

Spoiler alert! That didn’t happen. Wallace’s frustration boiled over as he struggled in 16th place and couldn’t help but vent about his car’s inconsistency over the radio. “So inconsistent, I don’t know what to do. You know what we talked about at the shop? Get this m*f***down,” said an exasperated Bubba. He really unleashed his scathing critique on 23XI Racing for not setting him up with a reliable ride, eventually finishing in 17th. And it looks like he’s not the only one struggling; his teammate Tyler Reddick is also in the same boat.

After starting P15, Reddick only managed to finish P15 and P8 in the first two stages. Similarly, Bubba Wallace could only get up to P18 and P17 in Stages 1 and 2 of the Kansas race. His outburst on the radio slightly contrasted with what he said earlier in the weekend. Addressing his slump, Wallace said, “You can be frustrated all you want, but as long as you make it constructive criticism and give yourself and the team the right feedback to keep moving forward, that’s what I’ve been trying to do.” On Sunday, though, that wasn’t the case. And maybe the 30-year-old will have another candle warmer waiting for him back home…

Reaction Info: Was Bubba’s frustration justified?

In light of his DNF at Dover, Bubba revealed, “I came home Sunday night from Dover, and I woke up Monday morning, and there was a candle warmer. I was like, ‘Nice! New candle warmer.’ [My wife’s] like, ‘Yes. Did you see what it says on it, though? It says, “It’s a new day.” I got that for you.’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God, thanks!’ That’s 10 candle warmers we have in the house now.” Whether or not it’ll be 11 this time around, it’s clear that Wallace is frustrated. And the thing is, it’s not just him. Fans are just as confused about the state of 23XI Racing.

Was Bubba’s outburst “crazy” and “unnecessary,” or just what 23XI needed?

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Before the season started, 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin said, “My goal would be to have at least both cars in the Final 8. I don’t understand why we would move our goals any lower than that.” Considering how the team ended 2023, it made sense for Hamlin to say this. In fact, he even told Sports Business Journal, “I’m slowly but surely starting to believe that 23XI is an equal to the position I’m in right now [at Joe Gibbs Racing].”

However, 2024 has proved otherwise, making a fan comment, “23xi fell off so incredibly sharply from where they were at the end of last year. it needs to be examined.” Last season was Bubba Wallace’s best one in his six-year full-time Cup Series career, even making his playoff debut and progressing to the second round. As for Reddick, he made it to the Round of 8, marking his longest championship run. The start of 2024, however, has been all over the place.

Reddick may have gotten that win in Talladega, but after Stage 1 in Kansas – with him in P15 and Wallace in P18 – a fan resonated with Wallace’s frustration about inconsistency. They wrote to 23XI Racing, “Man, fix your cars.” Another wanted Bubba to step it up after Stage 1, urging, “ALRIGHT BUBBA WALLACE, GET MY MONEY RIGHT! DRIVE AT KANSAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY LIKE YOU DROVE AT BOWMAN GRAY STADIUM. SOMETIMES YOU GOT TO MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF THE DAMN WAY! IF YOU WANT TO RIDE AROUND, GET ON THE WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR.”

Many of them reacted to the 30-year-old’s outburst on the radio. One of them was baffled, tweeting, “This is crazy wtf.” However, another found his message a bit amusing and commented, “Hahahahahaha, poor bubbles.” The #23 driver is no stranger to receiving hate for almost everything he does. And his outburst led to a few fans expressing just that. Reprimanding him for his language, one wrote, “First thing Bubba should do is clean up the nasty unnecessary filthy mouth!!”

Judging by what most fans felt, one thing is clear: something within the 23XI stable needs to change. Whether it’s Bubba Wallace or the car, that’s a debate fans constantly engage in. That said, do you think the Denny Hamlin co-owned team needs to pull up their socks?