Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway was shaping up to be Bubba Wallace’s redemption arc, until it wasn’t. Wallace had the No. 23 out front when it mattered most at the Autotrader 400. He won stage two, controlled key restarts, and, with five laps to go, was still leading Christopher Bell and a hard-charging Tyler Reddick.

Through multiple cautions and a red flag in overtime attempts, Wallace kept putting himself in position. But when the checkered flag finally flew, it was his teammate, Tyler Reddick, celebrating in victory lane while Wallace was left replaying the final laps in his head. The day definitely ended in heartbreak, but the 32-year-old did not shy away from giving credit to Dale Jr.’s JR Motorsports driver.

“So unfortunate. But man, what a race car we had today. You know what I learned a lot from is Rajah yesterday, he had a bad fast car, and he finished second, first stage, and won the second stage just like me. And I was like this car is so fast, don’t do anything to jeopardize a good finish,” Wallace said.

Rajah Caruth had been recognized as one of NASCAR’s most intriguing young talents, especially after his first run with JR Motorsports in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Atlanta.

The 23-year-old turned in one of his most impressive runs of the young season. He qualified well, starting sixth, and spent much of the race running near the front.

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He put together a strong stage one effort, finishing second before taking the lead and winning stage two, marking his first stage victory of the Xfinity season.

His ability to pull ahead three wide and command the field at times with the speed and drafting skill on the intermediate track. Despite all the action, Caruth finished eighth, a strong result in a tough field, and led 22 laps overall. In fact, even legendary figures like Mark Martin could not help but praise the young ace.

“Today [Rajah Caruth] made a fan for life out of me,” he said. “Some of the most car control I’ve seen in all my years. I wonder if he listens to any Gucci Mane. If not I’ve got a playlist to share.”

And in many ways, it felt like watching the same script layout again, this time with Wallace in the lead role. The blueprint Caruth had laid down a day earlier in Atlanta suddenly had a new, identical echo on Sunday.

On the first overtime restart caused by William Byron, Wallace lined up as the leader. On the second restart, he was on the front row again. The speed was undeniable, and the execution was nearly perfect, but with the pack closing in and not wanting to jeopardize his position, the 23XI Racing driver kept in his lane, refusing to take unnecessary risks.

“Yeah, I’m just pumped that Toyota still got to Victory Lane. Need to go back and see. I didn’t think I moved up that much to allow, you know, to put myself up top, top of three. So unfortunate,” he said post-race.

Eventually, Reddick extended his winning streak to Atlanta while the No.23 driver was forced to watch from the sidelines despite leading 42 laps of the whole race.

But all is not lost; NASCAR heads to one of the most exciting racetracks next week: the Circuit of the Americas. And that will be the track where Wallace could outshine his teammate.

Can Wallace turn COTA into a redemption run?

Wallace is desperate for a win after Tyler Reddick stormed to dominate the two races so far. But as history has it, COTA hasn’t been historically kind to Wallace. Last year, he showed promising speed but ultimately finished 20th in a highly competitive 95-lap field.

Despite not cracking the top 10, he started second in qualifying, giving his team a front-row sweep with teammate Tyler Reddick on pole and demonstrating serious pace early in the weekend. While he won stage one, marking his first career stage on a road course and proving he can fast-track points, the final results did not reflect it.

The 32-year-old has posted an average finish around 32nd over his 4 career starts there, one of the lowest averages among full-time drivers, but that doesn’t fully tell the story. His strong qualifying effort and state success indicate that he’s not out of his depth on the technical road course, especially compared to earlier years when road courses weren’t a strength.

But things have changed this year. 23XI Racing is up in everyone’s face, and with speed and momentum on their side, Wallace definitely has a very strong chance to finally snag an early win this year.