“That may have jinxed us”: Bubba Wallace wants to steer clear of this after three DNFs in a row

Bubba Wallace, the star driver for the Michael Jordan-owned racing team, shared his feelings following his impressive sixth-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway. He said that he might have jinxed the team when he had hoped for more good results at the start of the season, and wants to steer clear of that this time around.

Wallace had entered the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway looking to rebound from a disappointing set of results. He had suffered three consecutive DNFs that dropped him from seventh to 12th in the Cup standings.

In his latest Cup Series participation, Wallace was penalized for speeding on pit road on Lap 44. This forced him to serve a pass-through penalty and put him a lap down in the race. At the start of Stage 2, the 23XI Racing driver made it to the lead lap and from then onwards, coupled with his crew chief Charles Denike, Wallace made strategic calls to steadily gain positions up the field. He ultimately crossed the line in sixth place, marking his best finish since March and his first top-ten finish since April.

In an interview with Joseph Srigley for TobyChristie.com, Bubba Wallace hoped for more solid finishes just like he did at the start of the season. While he brought it up, he also fixated on the idea that he might have “jinxed” the team. He said:

“After those back-to-back top-three finishes, I expected that every week, and I think that may have jinxed us, I hope I didn’t say that again and jinx us again.”

“I have the utmost confidence in this team to continue to get finishes like this in a consistent manner, not the bouncing back and forth that everybody is used to out of the No. 23,” Wallace said. “We just had shit luck the last month, so I’m glad May is over with.”

Bubba Wallace had started the season strong him securing back-to-back top-three finishes in March. Wallace is ranked 10th in the driver standings after Nashville with 343 points. He has recorded two top-fives and five top-10 finishes, but has yet to record a win this season. His average starting position is 13.57, while his average finishing position is 19.71.

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Bubba Wallace made his feelings known with major turnaround ahead of NASCAR summer schedule

Bubba Wallace remained optimistic and motivated as the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series heads into its crucial summer stretch. Despite still searching for his first win of the season, Wallace has shown competitive pace, especially at mile-and-a-half tracks like Kansas and Texas.

Wallace emphasized that his team is consistently earning stage points and staying competitive, stating via Racer:

“Our name is in the hat. We just now have to close out the deal. I think through the summer stretch, yes, I’m excited for what’s next.”

He reflected positively on his runs at Kansas and Texas, noting satisfaction with his car’s speed and the team’s execution, even if results were sometimes hampered by penalties or incidents