“Gotta Do a Better Job”: Bubba Wallace Afraid of Repeating Texas Mistakes After Run-In With Tony Stewart’s Ace

Published 04/14/2024, 1:08 PM EDT

Every NASCAR driver harbors jittery feelings about at least one race track. For instance, Kyle Larson broke his misgivings about Martinsville last year in March. Now it is Bubba Wallace’s turn to turn the Texas race narrative in his favor.

Last Fall, a chance to enter Victory Lane in the Lone Star state narrowly slipped through Wallace’s fingers. After leading a race-high 111 laps, the No. 23 team made a slip-up on the final restart. That sealed Wallace’s fate, as he finished third place. Now as he faces the same track again, Bubba Wallace is conscious of his past mistake, and the driver who had toppled him.

Bubba Wallace takes a jibe at last Fall’s nemesis

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23XI’s No. 23 team received a heartbreak in last year’s race in Texas. Yet it marked a significant jump in Wallace’s performance. Before that, he only had two career top-15 finishes and one top-ten finish in Texas. Now his prospects seem brighter, holding five top-five finishes in the last 11 races on 1.5-mile intermediate tracks.

Hence Bubba Wallace is shining brightly for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400. However, yesteryear’s mishap keeps lingering in his mind. After leading for most of the race, a multi-car pileup triggered a late restart. Tony Stewart’s driver Chase Briscoe chose the front row beneath Wallace, and the two engaged in a battle for the lead.

But Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron took advantage of their tussle and stole the lead. Now as Bubba Wallace recollected that painful memory, he took a jibe at Briscoe who caused his fate. Pockrass asked him what he learned, and Wallace said, “That is Chase Briscoe started from the bottom, pick the bottom, don’t let him start on the bottom, ’cause he ain’t gonna lift…Nawhh”.

Bubba Wallace said a couple of weeks ago he didn’t know if he could watch the disappointing Texas finish from the fall when preparing for this race. He did watch. His thoughts on what he saw and learned from the restart that gnaws at him. pic.twitter.com/dQiaA4Muc4
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 14, 2024

Setting aside the jokes, Wallace admitted to a meticulous revisit. “We did look at a lot of restarts though. I think it all started from kind of pushing. So it’s who you want lined up on your bumper, pushing to give you that advantage. I think we gotta do a better job of analyzing that in the moment and calling the right shots, and set yourself up.”

He further said, “But first, we gotta have a good race, we gotta get to the end, we gotta get to the green-white-checkered finishes or whatever it was, to make that all come to fruition.”

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With an impressive run in the 2024 races so far, Bubba Wallace hauls up high hopes for the rest of the season.

Wallace may be in one of the best forms of his career

Bubba Wallace may not have notched a win yet, but he has shown consistent speed so far. He has picked up three top-fives, his best finish coming in the latest Martinsville race. Thus he finds himself 12th in points, Wallace’s best Cup Series points position through eight races in his career. Short tracks and intermediates were not his strong point earlier, but now the tides are turning.

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“Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely a better start than what we’ve had,” Wallace said. “Usually, we’re continuing to fall for the next two or three months, and then we’ll find the rest all throughout the summer. Now, we’re in a spot to where we can’t slip up. So I’d rather have that pressure so that points us all in the right direction to perform. Proud of the team. Last weekend was a great weekend for us. I think you just have to not be complacent, stay hungry, and be ready for whatever comes your way.”

As Wallace heads into Texas, hopefully, the Lone Star state will absolve his heartbreak this time.

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Written by:

Sumedha Mukherjee is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports who is known for her in-depth track analysis as well as her lifestyle coverage of Cup drivers like Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. Inspired by the Kiwi's journey so far, Sumedha has also written pieces on Shane Van Gisbergen, predicting how the Supercars Champion would do in the new and unfamiliar American setting. Pairing her research skills with her vast experience as a writer, Sumedha creates stories her readers can easily get lost in.

Edited by:

Shreya Singh

“Gotta Do a Better Job”: Bubba Wallace Afraid of Repeating Texas Mistakes After Run-In With Tony Stewart’s Ace

Bubba Wallace takes a jibe at last Fall’s nemesis

Wallace may be in one of the best forms of his career

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