Freddie Kraft breaks silence on Bubba Wallace’s undeserving Texas fate

23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace was poised for a strong finish at Texas Motor Speedway before initiating a multi-car wreck at the beginning of the final stage. Freddie Kraft, #23 Toyota spotter, opened up about the "unfortunate" result at the 1.5-mile oval and how Wallace has dealt with it.

Wallace lined up ninth on the grid for the Wurth 400 and finished outside the top 10 in the first stage. Opting for four tires every time, he regained track position during the long green-flag runs and finished fifth in the second stage. He lost a couple of positions on the pit road before the final stage, which put him on the outside lane for the restart.

In the latest episode of Door, Bumper, Clear, Freddie Kraft detailed the wreck, which ended their race. Kraft said that Wallace clipped the outside wall off Turn 2 on the restart. With Joey Logano right on his bumper, the #22 Ford driver turned him into the pack, collecting Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger, and Noah Gragson.

"Bubba [Wallace] got in the position where, the #22 [Logano] was right up in our a** — the #22 did nothing wrong, everybody's fighting for every inch in the restart there, especially late in the race. We just got tight off [Turn] 2 and we just clipped the wall and the #22 was on our bumper and turned us down into the rest of the crowd," he said [10:58 onwards]

"Unfortunate ending, another... it's kind of been our story of the season. We either get good runs or we have good speed and we don't get the finishes we deserve," Kraft added.

Freddie Kraft also mentioned that newly turned dad, Bubba Wallace, is handling tough results with more composure compared to the past. Kraft mentioned that such a result would have been a major setback for Wallace previously, but this time, the #23 driver remained in good spirits.

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Bubba Wallace focused on the positives from the Texas weekend

Despite missing out on a solid result, Bubba Wallace remained focused on the positives from the race. He said he had a good chat after the wreck with his crew chief, Charles Denike, suggesting that the team had started the weekend on the right foot and was making steady progress during the race.

After exiting the infield care center, Wallace told the media:

"Man, Charles [Denike], we had a nice talk after I got out of the car and they just laid out all the positives that we went through this weekend. So, that’s what we’re going to hold our heads to. I hate that I got into the fence. I was trying to give the 22 (Logano) room, and then just got the wall and started chaos," he said [via NASCAR.com]

Wallace has scored 100 stage points in the first 11 rounds, the third most among all drivers, trailing only Kyle Larson and William Byron. He currently sits eighth in the drivers' standings, marking a strong start to his 2025 campaign.

NASCAR returns to Kansas Speedway this weekend, a track where Bubba Wallace secured his last victory in 2022.