(Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)
FORT WORTH, Texas — Bubba Wallace exited his car dejected Sunday knowing he couldn’t capitalize on an opportunity to make the Round of 8.
The 29-year-old from Mobile, Alabama finished third in the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400, surrendering the lead on the final restart after leading a race-high 111 laps.
“Just upset with myself,” a frustrated Wallace said. “Really needed a win there, and it was a good showing. I don’t know where that puts us. I don’t really care. But I know what I did, and I choked.”
Wallace led strings of laps over each of the first two stages after winning the pole, but because of pit cycling, recorded a total of just three stage points. However, when it came time to battle for the win, Wallace emerged back into the mix.
But as the laps clicked off in the hot Texas sun, Kyle Larson had a sizable lead before JJ Yeley crashed and brought out a caution. That gave Wallace a fresh chance at Larson. The two battled side-by-side for over a lap before Larson got loose under Wallace and spun into the outside wall, ending his race.
Suddenly, Wallace was in the driver’s seat. He got a good launch on the restart but several cars crashed on the frontstretch after a lap. Another caution.
He tried the top again — this time not as strong of a restart. Chase Briscoe gained momentum out of Turn 2 and William Byron cleared him in Turn 4. Wallace dropped back out of sight but managed to salvage a podium result.
Still, it wasn’t what the 23XI Racing driver had hoped for knowing how high the stakes were.
Bubba Wallace leads the field into Turn 3 at Texas Motor Speedway. (Photo: John Arndt | The Podium Finish)
“Third time, I fooled myself starting on top,” Wallace said. “These guys gave me the right information. 14 (Chase Briscoe) was tight and he sent it off in there. Wasn’t going to stick, but that’s what he’s going to do. We’re racing for a win. I just hate it. I should have just kept my line into [Turn] 3 and forced William [Bryon] to get tight. But we’re so vulnerable in these cars.
“You’ve just got to process things slower. I feel like I’ve made a massive improvement in that, processing things a little bit better, but when it comes down to crunch time, you have to keep it all in check. The best restarter in the game gives it up on a restart. Funny how that works.”
Defeat aside, Wallace maximized his day. After entering the Round of 12 seeded last and 14 points below the cutline, he cut the deficit to just two points behind the Wallace. That comes without earning any playoff points to this point, nonetheless.
Wallace heads to Talladega Superspeedway, one of his best tracks, in a reasonable position. He scored his first career victory at the 2.6-mile oval two years ago and is constantly in the mix to win at drafting tracks.
However, the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL concludes the second round, which could potentially be a dangerous spot for Wallace. He’s admittedly struggled on road courses over his career, although he scored an impressive 12th-place finish at Watkins Glen International in August.
Regardless, he’s still in the fight.
“We grinded, came out with a good, solid points [day Sunday],” Wallace said. “Appreciate everybody’s support and effort and we’ll go on to Talladega.”
The YellaWood 500 is set for Sunday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Chase Elliott is the defending winner.
