June 26, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

A little luck would go a long way to turning Bubba Wallace's season around

LEBANON, Tenn.—Bubba Wallace admired the primary trophy for the Ally 400 after he entered the Media Center at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday.

But as any driver knows, the iconic Gibson Les Paul is the treasured prize awarded to each winner in NASCAR’s top three divisions at the revived intermediate track east of Music City.

While Wallace drums for fun, the driver of the No. 23 23XI Toyota has acquired a few guitars over the years. The guitar that is missing would likely be the one he covets most—the one he would acquire by pulling off a win on Sunday.

With 10 races to determine the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field, Wallace sits 25th in the standings and hasn’t posted a top-10 result since finishing second in the Daytona 500. Scoring a victory is likely his only path to advancing to the postseason.

“We've had speed,” Wallace said. “That's the thing that flies under the radar. We've had speed.

“I've let go of holding onto the mental mindset of just being angry or carrying over the sarcasm like, ‘Yeah, it's good weekend. Let's see what happens.’ Like, ‘No, I feel good about this weekend. We'll just go out and make the most of it.’”

And he did. In practice, Wallace and the 23XI Racing team posted the fastest lap on speed chart—161.708mph. Wallace also topped the Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average category with a speed of 159.681mph. After he climbed from the car, Wallace savored the small of victory.

“I had a lot of emotion—just from winning practice,” Wallace said. “After the season that we had, it meant a lot to me, having that speed and just showing that we’re competitive. Now, we have a lot of people in the garage talking about the 23 car. That’s big.

“I’m super proud of that and everybody back at 23XI. We’ve just got to execute. We’ve got to win…We’ve dug our hole deep enough where we have to show up and not hold back on anything.”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t back up his practice speed in qualifying. Wallace will roll off 30th.

The 2022 Cup season has resembled an E-ticket rollercoaster ride that Wallace can’t extract himself from. After finally scoring his first Cup win at Talladega Superspeedway last fall, the 28-year-old racer should be enjoying a breakout year.

Wallace has all the necessary resources at 23XI. He gained a mentor in Kurt Busch when the 43-year-old former champ joined the organization this season. Still, Wallace has experienced a rash of mechanical issues and accidents, most recently at Sonoma Raceway, where he had a competitive car but suffered engine failure nine laps into the contest.

Wallace described the defeat as “heartbreaking.” What should have followed the race—a delightful off week with good friends in wine country—turned into a time of reflection for the driver.

“We all stayed out in California and played some golf, drank some wine and bought some wine but it was really hard for me to enjoy the first couple days,” Wallace said. “I just found myself thinking about racing and thinking about all of the missed opportunities that we had let slip through our fingers. So as much as it was a nice reset, I still thought about racing every damn day. It was tough to let go.

“But got back home and me and Amada (fiancee) just did nothing--and it was nice. We didn't do anything. We stayed at the house, we slept and just enjoyed each other's company. And that was the best part--just relaxing. That was where I was able to finally enjoy the off week. So it's definitely shown up for this weekend.”

Although people consider Wallace most proficient on superspeedways, he looks at every race track as an opportunity to turn his season around. He’s had to learn the lesson of having fun. When the fun stops, that’s when the negativity creeps in.

“Having fun is the most important thing in the race car,” Wallace said. “If you keep bringing that mentality to the race track, it’s going to happen. It’s a demanding season. It’s a grind. This sport is built on grind, blood, sweat and tears, and you have to grind through it all.”

Despite the setbacks, Wallace considers his fifth season on the Cup tour his best as a driver. Busch has instilled the practice of focussing on the big picture throughout a race and making the most of it until the next stage happens and the ‘reset’ occurs. Wallace has also learned that the drivers that grind through adversity produce the best results.

If Wallace should acquire that Gibson Les Paul by winning the Ally 400 on Sunday, don’t expect him to break out in song.

“I would hang it up with the rest of them I’ve got,” said Wallace of his collection. “My fingers don't work to play guitar, so I'll just look at it. I have a couple that are signed by a couple of my band buddies—two from Miss May I that they sent over. One is signed by all of them. That was really cool. I just purchased a Blake Shelton guitar at a Speedway Children’s Charity event the other week. That one is cool, but I have to go with Miss May I.”