“We’ll be fine”: Bubba Wallace reacts after missing out on NASCAR playoffs

Despite starting from pole position in the final regular season race, Bubba Wallace didn't make the playoffs. Heading into the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, Wallace was 13th in the standings with 637 points, but he only managed to finish the regular season P18 in the standings, 1335 points behind Martin Truex Jr. in the last playoff spot.

Wallace knew his task was to finish at least 12 places ahead of Chris Buescher to break into the top 16. But in the end, he crossed the finish line in 16th place, 10 places behind Buescher.

Wallace shared his struggles in the post-race interview, saying:

"We were back and forth, a little too loose, a little too tight. We just got so tight and back in traffic in a spot we hadn't been all day then got caught in someone else's mess. Just so unfortunate. Congrats to the 14, they showed up when it mattered."

Despite not making the top 16 this year, Wallace said he would continue to race with the same determination. The #23 driver said,

"Not good enough for 16th this year. I hate saying that, but it wasn't for a lack of effort ... You've got four or 5 days to reset and go on to wherever we go next. We'll be fine."

Meanwhile, Wallace's teammate Tyler Reddick not only secured a playoff spot with his early season win at Talladega but also earned the 2024 regular season championship title with his consistent performances through the season.

---

Denny Hamlin gives take on Bubba Wallace's early season performances

Denny Hamlin, who secured his playoff spot with three wins during the regular season, spoke about his 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace, who narrowly missed the cut. Before the final regular season race, the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Hamlin commented on Wallace's poor early season performances resulting in pressure toward the end of the regular season.

Hamlin said,

Certainly I feel like if he’s [Wallace] had the performance that he has over the last 10 weeks, he would have been in Martin Truex’s spot or better but it just took a little while for that #23 team to get going this year and now they’re under the gun in the last hour"[7:25].

If the Darlington race had no new winner, Wallace might have had a shot, reminiscent of last year's scenario.

However, following Chase Briscoe's win at Darlington, Wallace became the only driver related to Joe Gibbs Racing [via a technical alliance with 23XI Racing] who didn't make the playoffs, unlike Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs who secured their spots based on points after the Darlington race.