This year’s playoff race at the Charlotte Roval brought to an end the championship hopes of four more drivers. Amongst the list this time was the name of 23XI Racing’s driver Bubba Wallace. The 29-year-old fell short of the cutoff line by 17 points and crashed out of contention for the championship despite his strong performance on the road course. While it is a matter of great appreciation that he carried himself this far in the contest, the question of what could have been had he gone through cannot be ignored.

Coming back from Charlotte, journalist Jordan Bianchi revealed the crucial causes of the driver’s downfall and shared his thoughts on the driver’s future had he made the cut.

Veteran journalist explains the incidents that led to Bubba Wallace’s elimination at the Roval

The #23 driver of 23XI Racing was not on the list of championship favorites when he managed to get his foot into the playoffs after the regular season race at the Daytona International Speedway. Despite that, he managed to put up some good performances when it mattered and kept his hopes alive week after week. Getting into the round of 12, however, a couple of missed opportunities cost him heavily and gave him a steep climb at the Roval.

Talking with fellow reporter Jeff Gluck on their podcast about Wallace‘s missed opportunities, Jordan Bianchi said, “I look back on it there are two things with Bubba. One, man, that late restart at Texas right? Like you know, almost winning there and just falling short, that’s great and then going to Talladega, which is his best track and you know leaving there with a 23rd place finish, not getting any stage points or getting very few stage points.”

Had Wallace been able to find some luck on either of the tracks, he could have possibly reached Las Vegas still in contention for the championship. Moreover, the tracks in the 3rd stage of the playoffs are some of his better ones.

Watch This Story: Bubba Wallace’s Dream Run Ends in Disappointment

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Bianchi believes that Bubba Wallace could have reached Phoenix had he made it through the cut

Bubba Wallace has been showing consistent improvement in every year that he has been racing for 23XI Racing. His results on road courses serve testament to that. Every time he races on a road course, he brings in a better result. Last weekend’s race followed the trend. Right from qualifying to the end of the main race, his improved skill was on full display. Had he managed to scrape through once again, there is no telling what he could have ended up achieving.

Revealing to Jeff Gluck the talks he had with people in and around the garages, Bianchi talked about where the upcoming schedule could have led Wallace. He said, “There was more than one person that told me if Bubba gets to this next round, him getting to Phoenix is not off the table. […] There was more than one person that said him getting to Phoenix is an obtainable goal for that team. Unfortunately for them, they weren’t able to punch their ticket through and we’re not going to see if that could happen.”

The tracks at Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami, and Martinsville are all favorable spots for Wallace. In the event that he had got a seat in the round of 8, it could have led him straight to the championship 4. But it was not to be. Despite being knocked out, Wallace will be hoping to end the season on a high. For a maiden playoff appearance, the young driver has achieved a lot to be proud of. Let us know in the comments below what you thought of his 2023 championship run!

Read More: 2023 is Bubba Wallace’s Best Season Till Date, and Here’s Why