How did Bubba Wallace Jr. perform in NASCAR's Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 at Martinsville Speedway?

23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace Jr. had a tough weekend at Martinsville Speedway. In the eighth NASCAR Cup Series race of the 2022 season, he registered another disappointing result.

Wallace Jr. finished in 16th position and lost to the eventual winner, William Byron, from Hendrick Motorsports.

During the qualifying session, Wallace Jr. managed to finish in the 21st position. On Twitter, the 23XI Racing team stated it was a positive comeback for Wallace Jr., who finished better than his starting position.

This short-track race has a history of putting a lot of pressure on NASCAR drivers. The race used to run 500 laps, but has now been shortened to 400 laps.

When the green flag was raised for the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday night, they had to navigate the 0.526 miles with 100 fewer turns than before.

Before the race, odds makers choose which drivers are most likely to win the race. Bubba Wallace Jr. was given odds of +20000 by DraftKings Sportsbook.

Wallace has had a lot of success in Martinsville. Despite never driving in a top-tier car, he has four top-17 finishes at the track known as "the Paperclip."

If we exclude his rookie season, Wallace Jr.'s driver rating at Martinsville is 17.2 percent higher than his average rating on other tracks.

Bubba Wallace Jr.'s performance in NASCAR Cup Series

With his victory at Talladega Superspeedway in the 2021 Fall race, Wallace Jr. became the second African-American driver to win the NASCAR Cup Series. It was the first win of his career and the first for the newly formed 23XI Racing.

Wallace Jr. has six overall Camping World Truck Series victories, making him the first African-American to win a NASCAR race since Hall of Famer Wendell Scott did so at Martinsville in 2013.

Bubba Wallace Jr. is currently ranked 22nd in the NASCAR Cup Series standings for the 2022 season, with 154 points, one top-five finish, and one top-ten finish.

Bubba Wallace Jr. began the season with promising results after finishing second in the Daytona 500, but he has underperformed in the last seven races.

On Twitter, NASCAR updated how Wallace Jr. was so close to being the winner of the 2022 Daytona 500.