“Bottom Feeder” Bubba Wallace Dissects a New Tire Package Changing Phoenix and Tyler Reddick’s Struggle

His boss Denny Hamlin might have spoken about NASCAR’s new aero package as positively as possible, but Bubba Wallace shares the sentiment of a lot of other drivers, and the package does not feel any different. Its true worth will be unfurled under racing conditions, but right now, it isn’t looking good. The 23XI Racing driver also spoke about how he was a ‘bottom feeder’ and urged fans and reporters to not over-analyze his teammate Tyler Reddick not running as well as him in practice.

After two top-five finishes in Daytona and Atlanta, Bubba Wallace fell off the pace in Las Vegas, and he will be looking to get back to the front of the pack. However, the 23XI Racing star does not have a good record in Phoenix. Maybe the new Aero package will help him out a bit in that regard, but the 30-year-old believes that the car feels the same as last year.

Bubba Wallace does not feel any difference in Phoenix

There was talk about how the new aero package would change Phoenix and other shorter tracks and make racing better. As per Denny Hamlin, it’s all part of a process to make things better with short-track racing, and fans should not rest all their hopes on this one upgrade. The 23XI Racing boss believes that this is only 10% of the solution, but his driver had an air of disappointment about him as he spoke about the package.

“Feels like ‘23, there’s your answer…it felt like Phoenix and maybe the more I think about it now, like the tires are falling off more but it doesn’t feel any different. It feels kind of the same to me so hopefully it will fall off even more throughout the race. The grooves will widen out a little bit, we’ll see but right now it feels the same,” he said.

The driver of the #23 car divulged to reporters a little bit of his Sunday strategy as well. It turns out that he will be more inclined toward taking the bottom lane than the top, as it’s a bit easier to pass.

“I’ve always been a catfish, I’ve always been a bottom feeder, so the more simple it is, the easier for me. I think you just have to adapt to the conditions, the race track, to track temperature, and all these different variables to figure out where to be at the right time,” Bubba Wallace added.

Read More – Denny Hamlin Claims NASCAR’s Short Track Package Can Be Solved With “One Phone Call”

While he ran decently during the practice session in Phoenix, the same cannot be said for his teammate Tyler Reddick. The driver of the #45 seemed to struggle with the car, which should be cause for concern, but Bubba Wallace was adamant that his teammate was fine.

23XI Racing star urges reporters to not worry about his teammate

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They may be teammates, but Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace have very different mentalities when it comes to racing. Simplicity is the name of the game for the driver of the #23 car. He does not like to make things complicated if he can help them. Reddick, on the other hand, is a curious customer. He would want to know everything about a car on track, test out every scenario, and try out every setting. That’s probably why it seemed like he was struggling, he was just testing what can and can’t be done with the aero package.

“Our car is pretty good, he’s fine. You can call it overanalyzing, but he takes everything to the extreme and wants to figure it out, so I respect that 100%. It’s a different mindset than I have. I try not to overcomplicate things, not saying that he does, but I try to focus on the big areas and deal with the rest, and I feel he’s like, “I wanna fix the temperature outside,” Wallace said of his teammate.

Read More – Justin Allgaier is Frustrated with JRM’s Fate After a Heartbreaking End to Phoenix

The two racers have a fantastic dynamic, and as 23XI is slowly becoming one of the top teams in the Cup Series, there has been a steady improvement for both Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick. It will be interesting to see how they perform in Phoenix.