July 18, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

After a month of blunders, Bubba Wallace scores timely podium finish at Loudon

Bubba Wallace needed a drama-free day—and he found it at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday.

Following months of miscues and heartbreak, Wallace and his No. 23 team were nearly flawless from qualifying to the checkered flag. 

With everyone pulling in the same directions, 23XI Racing’s flagship team finished third, its second-best result of the 2022 season.

“Just proud,” Wallace said after the race. “Proud of our team, proud of myself for staying in it there. 

“This last month has been pretty much hell for me. A good day for our DraftKings Toyota Camry TRD. Definitely needed this.”

Boy, did they ever. After five DNFs in the first 20 races and the miscues at Nashville Superspeedway last month, where Wallace showed tremendous speed during practice only to qualify 30th and watch the wheels come off, the podium finish couldn't have been more welcome. In fact, the left-rear wheel actually had come off the No. 23 Toyota on Lap 45 at Circuit of the Americas in March, leading to a four-race suspension of crew chief Bootie Barker as well as jackman Caleb Dirks and rear tire changer Adam Riley. 

The mistake also resulted in the destruction of the car’s suspension and Wallace’s first DNF of the year.
The problems steamrolled from there. Wallace was collected in a crash at Darlington 32 laps from the finish. Two weeks later, he was involved in a minor accident and Barker completely mismanaged the damaged vehicle clock. The No. 23 Toyota was parked when time ran out to fix the car on pit road. Two weeks after that, Wallace’s engine expired 10 laps into the  Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

After a week off in Wine Country, Wallace returned to racing at Nashville rested, relaxed and determined to turn his season around. Wallace posted the fastest lap in practice off of the truck. He also ran the Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average but then qualified 30th. Still, he recovered to seventh in the first stage, and remained in the top 10 through Stage 2—but weather threw a wrench into the racing and problems ensued on pit road. Once again, Wallace had an unsecured wheel. Barker told the driver to stop which resulted in Tyler Reddick running into the rear of the No. 43 car. 

Wallace fell off the lead lap. Barker apologized and attempted to assuage the situation only to be told by his driver, “Leave me the (expletive) alone, dude. Don’t talk to me the whole (expletive) entire race.”

Wallace salvaged a 12th-place finish, but, oh, what might have been, especially as he watched teammate Kurt Busch lead laps and contend for the win—again.

After his brakes failed at Road America, Wallace once again dropped to 25th in the standings. A top-15 result came at Atlanta Motor Speedway after Toyota Racing elected to swap some pit crew members between the Nos. 20 and 23 teams. Wallace received Christopher Bell’s front tire changer and tire carrier. Bell gained two new tire changers and a tire carrier—including the boss Joe Gibbs' grandson, Jackson Gibbs. 

Wallace entered Loudon with renewed optimism. His fourth-place qualifying effort was a season’s best. He gained points in both stages and restarted the final stage in the top 15. After the ninth and final caution, Wallace lined up for what would be a 92-lap run—the longest green-flag run of the race. Kurt Busch remained on track and assumed the lead. Wallace came in for a four-tire stop and restarted 13th.

In 10 laps, he blew by previous race leader Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe, William Byron and Kevin Harvick.

“It was definitely a tire management game,” Wallace said. “I kept telling myself to race the race track. Had one of the best behind me for a long time there with Harvick. He can mess with your mind a lot and I said, ‘Get out of here.’ I wasn’t going to let him do that and we pulled away.”

By the time Bell took the lead from Chase Elliott with 41 laps remaining in the contest, Wallace was running fifth. As Kurt Busch and Joey Logano pitted for fuel as the laps wound down, the driver of the No. 23 Toyota inherited third-place with 31 laps to go and held on for his second podium-finish of the season—Wallace’s first since the Daytona 500 in February.

“Hats off to everybody back at the shop,” Wallace said. “Brought a decent car, I wasn’t really happy with it, but it had speed. I told myself this morning that this could be a long day and to prepare for that, but here we are.”

Wallace is currently 23rd in the Cup point standings with six races to determine the Playoff grid. Obviously, Daytona would be his best shot at a win. A victory is the only possible avenue into the postseason, which would be a career-first for the 28-year-old driver.

Whether he advances or not, Sunday’s performance at Loudon provided Wallace with something he desperately needed—a glimmer of hope. He now has a vision of what can be when all the pieces fall into place. Imagine the possibilities.