WATCH: How Bubba Wallace Crashed at Talladega After Coming Close to Maiden Win

Published 10/05/2020, 2:21 PM EDT

After his recruitment to the Michael Jordan-owned NASCAR team, Bubba Wallace was hailed as the next big thing. Many tipped the African-American driver for greatness and felt that a win would come soon. At the Talladega Superspeedway, that predicted win almost came sooner than expected.

Considering that Wallace started the race in 27th place, he took capital advantage of the various cautions and crashes. Sometime during the race, the Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) driver found himself in the race lead. Admittedly, Wallace made an incredible move around the outside lane in a 3-wide duel for the lead.

Bubba Wallace got a helping hand from Ty Dillon, while he battled with Brad Keselowski. The #43 driver held onto the lead for a fairly long time ahead of Joey Logano and Chase Elliott.

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With 9 laps to go in the final stage, he looked more and more likely for an unexpected win. If Wallace actually won at Talladega, he would have continued the track’s streak of producing 1st-time winners.

“Tip of the Iceberg”- Kevin Harvick on the Impact of Bubba Wallace, Michael Jordan, and Denny Hamlin Joining Forces

Can @BubbaWallace hold on?
GET TO @NBC NOW! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/yF82R2Ro0L
— #NASCARPlayoffs on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 4, 2020

Heartbreak for Bubba Wallace brings out the final caution flag

Unfortunately for the RPM driver, he got tagged by Ryan Preece and got pitched into the wall. The resulting chaos took out Austin Dillon, Matt Kenseth, and a couple of other drivers.

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Admittedly, the African-American driver was gutted, especially since he already fell afoul of Joey Logano earlier.

A third overtime is coming up on NBCSN!
Bubba Wallace crashes while being the leader on the top line. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/ske85kuL43
— #NASCARPlayoffs on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 4, 2020

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Bubba Wallace was able to rejoin the race after mending his car and refueling. He even dodged a huge pile-up and snuck his way back into the Top-5. Sadly, the contact with the wall was enough to put his hopes for the win to sleep. In the end, he was forced to settle for a lowly 24th place.

Despite the disappointment, he can be proud of the fact that this display is just a small taste of his capabilities. It will also make Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan very happy, as they will now know that they made a good investment.

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Written by:

Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.