The dust settled down after Denny Hamlin’s burnouts on the track in Bristol and his winning verdict. The drivers slowly exited their cars and headed to their team haulers, but only one driver sat inside his car as he gasped for breath while tears rolled down his cheeks. It was Michael Jordan’s prodigy, Bubba Wallace, who for the first time entered the Round of 12 in his Cup Series career and will head to Texas Motor Speedway for the playoff opener.

Although the driver had overcome a deficit of 19 points and surged past Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick, an air of uncertainty still looms over the 23XI Racing driver. Will the driver be able to make it to the improbable Round of 8 and find success in Texas, or will this be the curve ball that awaits Bubba Wallace? Well, Hendrick Motorsports would love to think otherwise.

Hendrick Motorsports insider delivers his verdict for Bubba Wallace in Texas

Unlike his teammate Tyler Reddick, who has notched two victories in both regular and post-season that also ensured his ticket to the next round, Bubba Wallace has always found himself in choppy waters before the unexpected strikes.

However, the burning question is whether he will be able to perform the same feat in the Round of 12 as well or if it is time to pull the reigns. With NASCAR heading to Texas as the playoff opener, it is safe to say that the 23XI Racing driver does have an edge over other drivers, given its status as a superspeedway.

In order to make a case against Bubba Wallace, his hopes of making it to the next stage can also fall flat, owing to the fact that the driver has only two top-ten finishes in the last 15 races. Moreover, the No. 23’s outing on the track of Texas has not been a successful one. He had failed to score zero stage points, and his best finish on the track was 25th place. The curveball does not end there, as the threat of Ford’s Brad Keselowski awaits him.

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With the resurgence of RFK Racing, one of the only few Ford drivers to have led a lap and had the hopes of winning was Brad Keselowski. Furthermore, he has experienced some favorable outings at Texas Motor Speedway. Having said that, Hendrick Motorsports veteran Steve Letarte, in his conversation with the Chopper and the Professor, believed that Wallace would outduel Keselowski.

Letarte expressed, “Bubba is the favorite. Well, the predictor loves Kez, so I am guessing all the data is going to point at Kez.  Bubba at the miles and the half, I think is pretty decent.”

Chopper retorted, “Bubba at the mile and a half is where he got the edge, but for the season it’s totally Keselowski.”

Bubba Wallace spills his expectations for Texas race

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It is no brainer that Toyotas have been a dominant force on the intermediate tracks, and hence the high chances of him winning as believed by Letarte,

Nevertheless, in his post-race interview after the Bristol race, Wallace noted, “[I was] just trying to gather my thoughts and man, just emotional. I said to myself out loud, not on the radio, ‘Proud of you, kid,’ and we all know I rarely do that […]”

“Just what you need to do is execute, so this is a special day and got to cherish it but can’t get complacent. We know Texas is up, and we’re OK there, but we got to come out swinging and come out on the right end of it. Ready to go to work.”

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With the Texas race being just around the corner, it is to be seen how the championship contention pans out to be. Will the 2023 season be finally the season for Wallace or turns out to be sore in nature?