Bubba Wallace and 23XI Racing started the 2026 Cup season well, with their eyes set on the Championship. But 15 races in, Wallace in the No. 23 Toyota sits 11th on points. 

While Wallace’s mid-season hasn’t gone how he would have hoped it would, his 23XI teammate Tyler Reddick has racked up five wins already. Wallace has the pace in his car, which was shown in the early races, where he mostly finished in the top 10. But it went downhill after Darlington.

Speaking to the media following qualifying in Pocono, Wallace took full responsibility for how his season had evolved. “Our mindset going into this year was compete for a championship and we still got a long way to go there, especially with the way the 45 and the 11 are running. I feel like I’ve taken a tick up in performance and just all the avenues where a driver needs to deliver and the results haven’t shown.”

At Darlington and Martinsville, Wallace was caught up in back-to-back wrecks. Later at the Glen, Charlotte and Nashville, too, Wallace didn't finish below 20.

He admitted that he has the pace, and despite it not showing in the aforementioned tracks, the race in Michigan was a positive, which he would look at to build momentum on. He was clear on what he needed to do next. 

“Been a little frustrating. But it's racing, it's hard, it's not ever supposed to be easy. You need to figure out how to handle the hardships. They may smack you in the face when you’re least expecting it, but you have to be ready for it.”

Wallace assessed what the championship looks like for him and what kind of results he needs to show going forward.

“Where we’re at is kind of like a dogfight. I picked up four sports last weekend, just having a solid 40-point day. I think if we could do that again, there’s another handful of spots there in front of us.”

That sounds like a great plan; however, Wallace didn’t feel the momentum in qualifying at Pocono, crashing out and wrecking his 23XI Toyota beyond repair.

Wallace admits he’s seen worse than Pocono qualifying crash

Wallace crashing out in Pocono isn’t new, and that’s exactly why he was left comparatively unbothered by his crash entering the tight tunnel turn. Not because the impact wasn’t much; the car was totally wrecked, and Wallace will drive a replacement car that hasn’t been set up for Pocono. 

It was because of a massive crash he had in 2018 during his debut season. Driving the No. 43 for Richard Petty Racing, Wallace lost his brakes and went onto the grass to try to break the momentum as his car was sure to end up in the wall. 

Wallace was asked about his confidence levels following the crash in qualifying on Saturday and said, “Can’t get any worse than my rookie year when that happened. So I’ve experienced just about the worst it can get, so anything else is like okay.”

Wallace will have a tough time adjusting to a car that isn’t set up for Pocono, but as he said, it’s about adjusting to the difficulties and performing. 

The No. 23 starts from 38th in Pocono, and it’s not entirely impossible to make his way to the front. He surely has his 23XI owner Denny Hamlin to look up to, who drove from last to first in his last two races.

After winning the pole, it is the 23XI owner and JGR driver who enters as the favourite to win the race at the track he dominates, unlike anyone else.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason