Bubba Wallace reflects on his team's performance after Darlington comeback

Bubba Wallace finished Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 in P6, recovering from a pit road issue in Stage 1, marking his fifth career top-10 at Darlington Raceway. Besides a handful of mistakes, mostly on pit road, the 23XI Racing driver sounded quite happy about his day.

Wallace started eighth alongside Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell on Row 7. He made the inaugural round as a playoff driver through his regular-season win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. The victory also snapped a 100-race winless streak for the Alabama native.

At Darlington, Wallace was happy with how things turned out for the No. 23 team. Recalling his pit road hiccups, the Toyota icon said (via NBC),

“I was doing my best not to overdrive the corners the last couple of laps. Good day for our team. Great playoff run and just solid execution. We had a couple of mistakes on pit road, I had a couple of mistakes on the track, and we were able to rebound really well. Hats off to Toyota. I was really happy with the car to start.”

For Bubba Wallace, the playoffs are all about keeping a balance between aggression and enjoying every moment through the elimination rounds, keeping the bigger picture in mind: winning his career-first NASCAR Cup Series championship.

“I was counting down the laps one by one. Limit the mistakes. I seen a lot of people had bad days. I didn’t want to add to that factor. It’s what it’s all about, is just keeping the aggression levels in check, keeping the big picture in check, enjoying the moment,” he added.

Next up for Bubba Wallace is the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Scheduled for Sunday, September 7, the 240-lap event will stream live on USA (3 pm ET) with radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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Bubba Wallace sends a message to his playoff rivals entering the postseason

Bubba Wallace was winless for most of 2025. However, he bagged his maiden victory of the season when it mattered the most. As things stand, Wallace is the only driver from 23XI Racing who made the postseason through wins.

Wallace isn’t grateful for the spotlight, as he thinks he deserves to be in the playoff rumble. Recalling how things ended back in 2023 (Wallace was eliminated from the Round of 8 race at Charlotte) and how far he has come since then, the driver said,

“I don't feel like 2023 Playoff Bubba, where like, 'Oh man, it's cool to be talking to you guys for Playoff Media Day”

"I feel like I belong here and want to continue this trend. I have the utmost confidence in our team and our ability and potential to carry this into making a deep run into the playoffs,” he added.

Currently, Bubba Wallace sits fifth in the championship standings with a 25-point cushion above the cutoff line.