“I was bum puzzled by that announcement”: Bubba Wallace on Legacy Motor Club’s switch to Toyota

Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing driver, finished P4 in the AdventHealth 400 despite being right on the fringes of another victory. On a day that was mostly dominated by Toyota-manufactured cars on the tri-oval racetrack, Wallace was one of the front runners on the field. He contended for a chance to visit Victory Lane in Kansas City.

The 400-mile-long race saw the likes of Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr. and Wallace battle it out for the lead. Eventually, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin left the pack behind as he chased a speedy Kyle Larson with a fast short-run #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

The #11 Toyota Camry TRD driver kept within touching distance of the Hendrick Motorsports driver. He then nudged him and took the checkered flag in P1 on the final lap of the 267-lap-long event.

Kansas Speedway has proven to be one of the few tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series season which proves to play to Toyota-manufactured cars' strengths. Legacy Motor Club, a new team in the highest echelon of the sport, thus announced their partnership with the brand from the 2024 season onwards.

Current Toyota driver Bubba Wallace reacted to the switch from the team co-owned by Jimmie Johnson, and said in a press conference:

"I was bum puzzled by that announcement. I didn't expect that. We were told, what an hour before? Talking with the Toyota execs, they're excited because its numbers. Still the minority but thinking numbers is important for sure."

The manufacturer switch from Legacy MC will put Noah Gragson and Eric Jones both behind the wheels of Toyota Camry TRDs from 2024 onwards.

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Bubba Wallace's teammate Tyler Reddick speaks his mind on Legacy MC's switch to Toyota

Bubba Wallace's new teammate at 23XI Racing, Tyler Reddick switched from camp Chevrolet to camp Toyota at the start of this year's Cup Series season. He now seemed excited for Legacy MC to join the bandwagon.

Elaborating on how more Toyota-manufactured cars on the track can help everyone collectively, Reddick said:

"I'm really excited about it obviously. The more of us that we have out there on the racetrack certainly really helps at the superspeedways. Just having a larger pool of drivers and crew chiefs that can share information with one another."

Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick managed to finish in P4 and P9 respectively at Kansas Speedway, earning a double top-10 finish for 23XI Racing.