"I got nothing to stress about": Bubba Wallace heading into Watkins Glen with a relaxed mindset

Bubba Wallace recently opened up on racing at Watkins Glen without the pressure of a win to qualify for the playoffs. A couple of weeks ago, the 23XI Racing driver emerged victorious in the Brickyard, which turned out to be his first win of the season as he booked his ticket in the playoffs.

Wallace followed up his win at Indy with a 6th place finish at Iowa last Sunday. And now heading into Watkins Glen, with Richmond and Daytona left in the regular season ahead and his playoff spot booked, Bubba Wallace was asked about his mindset for the road course.

During a media availability session, a reporter asked Wallace whether, knowing he has already won this season, could he focus on the basics of road course racing at the Glen.

"Yeah, for sure. I got nothing to stress about. Obviously push myself harder and harder to find all the speed in our car. So I'm looking forward to that. It's going to be a challenging day. I know that. But nonetheless get the sleeves rolled up and ready to go," Wallace said. [2:00]

When asked by another reporter about what his life has been like ever since he has been out of the bubble conversation courtesy of his win, Wallace said it's 'awesome.' He claimed he's enjoying it and now looks at the next three races as opportunities to 'expose our weaknesses.'

The #23 driver emphasized he's excited for Watkins Glen as well as for Richmond and Daytona.

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Bubba Wallace hoping for Tyler Reddick and Riley Herbst to make the playoffs in the next three races

Ahead of Watkins Glen, Bubba Wallace opened up on his thoughts regarding his teammates' fates heading into the playoffs. It's worth mentioning that Wallace's 23XI Racing teammates, Tyler Reddick and Riley Herbst, are both winless so far this season.

Reddick was the regular season champion in 2024 and ended the season with three wins to his name. But at this stage of the season, not only is Reddick currently without a win and a guaranteed playoff berth, he's sitting in 6th place in the standings.

Speaking about his teammates and their chances of getting in the playoffs, Bubba Wallace said:

"Hopefully we can get the #45 locked in on a win and then you know the #35 needs to win. So if Tyler finds his road course tricks, he could win this weekend and then Riley does his super speedway magic, we could get all three cars in the playoffs. It's not far out of the realm." [5:20]

As for himself, Bubba Wallace said he needs to 'work hard'. But because they've already won this season, he said it's nice having no pressure on his shoulders as he deemed a win in the regular season to be 'pretty special' for the #23 team.