“They don’t execute”: Kevin Harvick bluntly snubs Bubba Wallace’s 23XI teammate as NASCAR championship contender

Kevin Harvick did not hold back when asked about Bubba Wallace's teammate, Tyler Reddick’s performance heading into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Speaking on NASCAR on Fox, the former driver said that despite showing speed throughout the regular season, Reddick and his team have failed to execute when it matters most.

When analyzing the numbers, Harvick pointed out that Reddick’s average speed ranks inside the top five over the first 26 races. However, he argued that the results on track have not matched that pace.

“They don’t execute. They don’t, they don’t turn it into anything,” Harvick said. [20:51 onwards]

He then explained why Bubba Wallace's teammate, Reddick, does not look like a contender when compared to others in the field.

“It’s really confusing, like when you look at the speed chart average for the first 26 weeks, he ranks fifth. So they’ve had speed, but they don’t execute. To me, it doesn’t feel like he’s had that top-five speed when I watch the races. I know that he got tore up again this weekend, but I really thought that they would progress. Especially the way that the 23 car has run. The 23 of Bubba went through a lull there, but they got it back and got themselves to victory lane, started the year off like gang busters.” (NASCAR on Fox)

The comment came in the wake of Reddick’s 21st-place finish at Daytona, where he advanced into the Playoffs but left visibly frustrated. His stats reflect the inconsistency: no wins this season, five top-five finishes, nine top-10s, and only one pole. He has led 153 laps but has an average finish of 15.423. For Harvick, those numbers highlight why Reddick, despite the speed charts, does not look like a real title threat.

Bubba Wallace's teammate, Reddick’s frustrations are not new. After Daytona, he admitted that his team has not put together complete races and needs to improve quickly to survive the Playoffs. The Southern 500 at Darlington now looms as the first test, with Reddick sitting 14th in the driver standings, 26 points behind the leader.

The Cup Series Playoffs start at Darlington with the Southern 500. This is Reddick’s fifth straight Playoff, but he now has to prove he can turn speed into wins. His teammate Bubba Wallace heads in with momentum after scoring a win earlier in the season.

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Bubba Wallace addresses “cocky” label

Bubba Wallace has also been dealing with perceptiona off the track. In an interview with Rubbin is Racing, he spoke openly about being seen as “cocky and arrogant.” Wallace said his style is often misunderstood, explaining that his humor and trash talk are part of how he connects with people.

“Sometimes it can be I guess labeled as me being cocky or arrogant or me being a jerk or an a**hole and it’s like man I’m just here to have fun and poke fun and you know I know when it’s time to be serious and when it’s not,” Wallace said.

That edge has followed Wallace throughout a season of ups and downs. He kicked off 2025 with a Duel win at Daytona, nearly took victory at Homestead before losing out late to Alex Bowman, and made history by winning at Indianapolis in June, becoming the first Black driver to capture a Cup Series win on the IMS oval.