Bubba Wallace received a bump from Brad Keselowski that propelled him past Kyle Busch as the field hit the white flag. Wallace was one lap away from finally conquering a superspeedway track all the way through the end.
The No. 23 car blocked a run from Ryan Blaney entering Turn 1 and almost spun out. Then, Wallace got himself situated as Blaney decided to take advantage and go to the middle lane. The 23XI Racing driver tried blocking the run but was too late.
Wallace lost control and slid back down the track into Brad Keselowski as the “Big One” was underway. Going home with a 28th-place finish, Wallace talked about the final lap as a possible win turned into another disappointing finish.
Related: 23XI Racing responds to Bubba Wallace’s comments of needing to be replaced
Bubba Wallace talks about the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway
Wallace has won at Talladega Superspeedway before but it came during a rain-shortened race during the 2021 season. It doesn’t mean the 29-year-old driver got away with an easy victory but it is a different feeling than winning one of these superspeedway races at the end.
Therefore, it feels like Wallace is still chasing a victory on one of these race tracks. He has been so close with a second-place finish in the 2022 Daytona 500, a second-place finish in the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400, and several other races where the results did not show his performance.
Sunday’s race at Talladega was another example of the No. 23 team coming up just short. Wallace talked about his last-lap blocks and remained upbeat in what has been a challenging season through 10 points-paying races.
“I pulled a late block — close, close, close block, and it just sent it around. It’s not (Ryan Blaney)’s fault…I hate that I caused that one. When I seen the 12, I was pumped. We work well together obviously every speedway race. That’s just the way it goes. Not the 12’s fault at all…I honestly thought that he would leave me high and dry coming back around and just hate it for the team and that’s how it goes. It was our best by far (superspeedway) race that we’ve ever done so hats off to to my team…It was all about defending and you can’t let your guard down for one second or you end up in here.”
Bubba Wallace on the last lap incident involving Ryan Blaney
Wallace took the blame for the incident and while it is his fault for throwing another quick block, most drivers would likely do the same if they were in his shoes. It is incredibly difficult to win at superspeedway tracks and he has for sure experienced that throughout his career.
The driver of the No. 23 car was seen on pit road slamming his hans device on the ground after the race and it’s hard to blame him. In fact, it would have been more surprising to see him not show any emotion because it is clear that he deeply cares about winning in NASCAR.
It’s a good thing. Wallace had a difficult start to the 2023 season but there are positives to take away from his performance. It felt like 23XI Racing’s superspeedway program took a step back during the 2022 season but it looked sharp on Sunday afternoon at Talladega.
Wallace will break through on a full-distance superspeedway race eventually. He has too much talent to go much longer without securing a victory. Everything needs to be perfectly aligned to win these races and it just wasn’t Wallace’s turn yet.