(Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Bubba Wallace would tell you that Sunday’s FireKeeper’s 400 at Michigan International Speedway was his best chance to win a race this season. That’s why he didn’t mince his words after falling short to Kevin Harvick and finishing second.
“I want to win so bad and this was the best opportunity,” Wallace told USA Network after the race. “I will wear this one on my heart for a while. I failed everybody.”
Wallace started his weekend off with a bang, winning the pole for the first time in his career. Because of pit strategy, Wallace fell out of the top 10 and didn’t earn any stage points in the race, finishing the two segments 12th and 13th, respectively.
In the final stage, Wallace’s car came back alive. He thrived on long runs and navigated up to second place during the final green flag pit cycle of the day. On Lap 161, Christopher Bell crashed from second to bring out a caution. Wallace pitted and exited behind 23XI Racing team owner Denny Hamlin, but Hamlin was penalized for too many men over the wall. Instead, Wallace lined up beside Kevin Harvick, who didn’t pit, on the Lap 165 restart.
Harvick quickly pulled away and Wallace dropped to third behind Joey Logano. It took Wallace several laps to re-pass Logano, and by the time he successfully did, the gap behind Harvick became insurmountable. Harvick cruised to his first victory in 65 races while Wallace notched his fourth consecutive top 10.
“Should have taken the top on the restart,” Wallace said. “Thought I could hang with the 4 (Kevin Harvick) and just got to racing the 5 (Kyle Larson) and the 22 (Joey Logano). 22 did a great job of getting another Ford contract by helping another Ford win.”
When asked about what he could’ve done differently, Wallace responded: “Got clear of the 5 (Kyle Larson) sooner. He was doing his part staying on my quarter there and keeping me tight and allowed the 4 (Kevin Harvick) to get away. Could have taken the top and pushed the 4 and then I could have been the 5 in that center area. Hate it. Hate it for our team. Sucks.”
Though Wallace fell short of a victory to secure a playoff spot, he led a top-10 effort for both 23XI Racing cars. Ty Gibbs finished 10th in his third race substituting for Kurt Busch, recording his best finish.
“Just great job all weekend. He (Bubba Wallace) did a great job and Ty (Gibbs) did a great job,” Hamlin said after finishing third for Joe Gibbs Racing. “The whole 23XI team just did a phenomenal job from beginning to end and they gave him a rocket. This was a well-put-together weekend for all of them. It’s Dave Rogers, it’s Mike Wheeler, it’s Billy Scott helping set up both of these cars. It’s just a lot of puzzle pieces that those guys are starting to do right and have good results.”
With three races remaining in the regular season, Wallace must win in order to make the playoffs. His best opportunity is at Daytona on August 27, where he has two Daytona 500 runner-ups. But before then, the series travels to Richmond and Watkins Glen.
Wallace finished 26th at Richmond in April and finished 23rd at Watkins Glen last August.
