Bubba Wallace’s habit of getting caught in someone else’s wreck has followed him all season. At Talladega, the 23XI Racing driver was leading the field when a push from Ross Chastain sent his No. 23 spinning into the “Big One,” ending what had been a promising race. That kind of bad luck has not disappeared now that Wallace is in the Chase. If anything, the same pattern has followed him into the championship fight, leaving the veteran increasingly resigned to the chaos around him.

“Never want to expect to get crashed out or get involved, but with the way the season’s gone that seems like it’s about every damn week. So, only thing we can do is keep our heads down and keep digging, which is what we did today. Came from the back to finish top ten. What more can you do?” Bubba Wallace said after Kansas.

The question put to Wallace was about something that has become an increasingly familiar part of his 2026 season. The 23XI Racing driver has repeatedly found himself in the middle of incidents that were not necessarily of his making. But they have forced him to spend races repairing damage, rebuilding track position, or simply trying to salvage whatever points remained available.

Kansas provided another example. Carson Hocevar and Wallace were among the drivers caught up in a multicar incident on a Lap 123 restart. As the field accelerated, Hocevar moved into position behind Chase Elliott, but the gap quickly disappeared. The No. 77 Chevrolet made contact with Ty Gibbs, triggering a chain reaction that swept Wallace into the incident.

Josh Berry, Zane Smith and Erik Jones were also caught up in the wreck. The incident turned what had begun as a routine restart into another chaotic moment for several drivers. At least Wallace’s race was not over.

The No. 23 Toyota sustained damage, but Wallace and the other drivers involved were able to continue. Rather than allowing another incident to dictate the rest of his afternoon, Wallace and his team used late-race pit strategy to put themselves back into contention. By the time the checkered flag fell, Wallace had climbed all the way back to ninth.

That recovery helps explain why his answer carried both frustration and acceptance. He has learned that getting caught in somebody else’s problem can happen without warning. There is little he can do once the cars around him start moving in the wrong direction.

Kansas was hardly an isolated case in the Chase. At Gateway, Wallace’s race repeatedly unraveled through contact. Ross Chastain knocked him out of the top 10 early, before Daniel Suárez made further contact that sent Wallace sliding up the track and eventually down toward 30th.

Yet Wallace refused to stay there. He fought his way back toward the front and was again running inside the top five when another restart created trouble. Wallace became involved in a four-wide battle with Chase Briscoe on Lap 141, with the two eventually spinning after making contact. William Byron then hit Wallace directly in the left front, forcing the team to make repairs.

Even that was not the end of the trouble. Wallace later returned to the front and was battling for sixth when he, Berry and Christopher Bell came together exiting Turn 2. Tyler Reddick was also collected, getting some air as the incident unfolded, while Wallace spun down the backstretch. After everything, Wallace could only salvage 14th.

Back in the regular season, Nashville delivered an even harsher example. On Lap 204, Carson Hocevar made contact with Chris Buescher through Turns 1 and 2, sending Buescher into Wallace’s path. Wallace had nowhere to escape. His No. 23 slammed into William Byron before hitting the outside wall. The damaged Toyota then slid back across the track and clipped Alex Bowman.

The chain reaction ended Wallace’s race and left him with a 32nd-place finish. There has also been a different side to the Wallace-Hocevar story this season.

At Martinsville in March, Wallace was involved in a massive 12-car pileup after his own contact with Hocevar. Earlier in the restart, Hocevar had squeezed Wallace three-wide entering Turn 1, frustrating the 23XI driver. Wallace later made contact with the rear of the No. 77 in Turn 3, then struck Hocevar again after misjudging the corner.

Hocevar’s Chevrolet was sent sideways across the track, triggering a pileup that swallowed nearly a quarter of the field. Wallace’s Toyota suffered terminal damage, leaving him 36th.

That distinction matters when looking at Wallace’s season. Not every incident can be placed in the same category. Kansas was another case where Wallace was simply caught in someone else’s chain reaction.

But from his perspective, the accumulated effect is what matters. He can only keep climbing back into the fight after the next setback. At Kansas, he did exactly that.

But Wallace’s “What more can you do?” carries a deeper message. When a driver starts expecting chaos every week, the real challenge is not avoiding every wreck. It is refusing to let each one convince him that the race is already lost.