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via Imago

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It has been a fantastic start to the season for Bubba Wallace with two back-to-back top-five finishes, but after the Ambetter Health 400, the driver of the #23 doesn’t want anything to do with his spotter. The race was a mentally grueling affair for the 23XI Racing star who had to navigate his way through several wrecks to finish high up the pack. For now, he just wants a break from his spotter talking in his ear all the time.

Wallace and his spotter, Freddie Kraft, share a fantastic relationship and seem to be pretty close. Their banters on social media are something that fans love to see and the two were at it almost immediately after the conclusion of proceedings at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Their language may not be family-friendly, but the chemistry is definitely something the team members love to see.

Bubba Wallace and his spotter engage in banter moments after Atlanta race

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Wallace finished P5 in Atlanta on Sunday after an intense race and his spotter was in his ear the whole time, perhaps talking a lot more than normal. After a tough race, drivers want to switch off completely from the racing mentality to recover and just relax, and as far as the 23XI Racing star is concerned, that includes taking a break from speaking with his spotter.

The 30-year-old went public with his feelings as another episode of the Bubba Wallace and Freddie Kraft banter sessions unfolded on X. Kraft shared a post stating that it was a fun race to spot and an annoyed Wallace was having none of it. Commenting on his spotter’s post, the driver of the #23 wrote, “I’m even tired of seeing you type let alone talk.”

Freddie Kraft was not going to take that from a man he just helped finish in the top five for the second race in a row and he made his feelings clear with the famous Guardians of the Galaxy GIF of Peter Quill giving the finger. Fans were loving the back-and-forth between the two Cup Series stars.

The 23XI star was mentally spent at the end of the race and he did not shy away from talking about that side of things. The race was filled with crashes and the constant paranoia that something may go wrong despite running well can take a massive toll on a driver.

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Behind the hilarious tweets was a mentally drained 23XI Racing star

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That’s exactly what happened with Bubba Wallace, who ran a fantastic race. But things could have turned out a lot differently. The #23 car was involved in an incident on lap 2 when he was spun around and lost a lot of positions. Since then, Bubba Wallace was on edge for the entirety of the race, and by the end of it, he was mentally exhausted.

“Lot to build on and lot to debrief, so yeah, it’s fun. The racing was very intense, it’s the mental side. Are we gonna crash, am I making the right move, every corner, every straightaway, every lap, it’s a lot. So I am mentally drained from that. You try to be so cool, calm, and collected the whole time and it’s hard to do in these situations,” he said.

 “These guys are good, so you don’t want to just get caught sleeping, but our team executed and brought a fast race car. We got unfortunate with damage on lap one. I thought we were fifth with 20 to go and that’s where we ended up. So I wish we could have given it a legit shot for a win, but we will settle in for fifth. I’m glad we’re done with speedway racing for a while. The mental toll it takes on you, it’s a lot,” the 30-year-old added.

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However, Bubba Wallace can be proud of how he has raced so far this year. Two top-five finishes in the first two races is an incredible achievement, and he is the only driver to do it this year, so that’ll give him a lot of confidence heading into Las Vegas. Will the #23 be able to get a victory in the City of Sin? Let us know your thoughts. 

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