Bubba Wallace Could Emerge As Michael Jordan?s Texas Disappointment Amid Tyler Reddick?s Playoff Seize

Not being able to make it into the playoffs is disappointing indeed. However, it is even more disappointing when your teammate makes it into the playoff rumble and you do not. Qualifying for the playoffs determines a lot of things. First, it goes a long way in deciding your future with your current team. And second, it could make you gain or lose sponsorships. So, the importance of the playoff battle is excruciatingly high for every NASCAR driver there is.

Since Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin formed 23XI Racing, 2023 is the first time that Bubba Wallace has qualified for the playoffs. Whereas, with the same equipment and facilities, his teammate Tyler Reddick had qualified just in his first year. Thanks to Chris Buescher, there were no new winners at Daytona and Bubba Wallace clinched the last playoff berth.

Bubba Wallace faces his newest challenge

Lack of synchronization between Bubba Wallace and Michael Jordan’s pit crew has doomed the 29-year-old Alabama native’s day many times before. But he seemed to have regained his momentum and his pit crew seemed to have rectified their mistakes. Bubba Wallace is ready to race at Texas Motor Speedway for the round of 12 opener.

However, Bubba Wallace’s track record at Texas Motor Speedway is not as promising as Reddick’s. Since 2020, Bubba Wallace has just 1 one top-10 finish with zero top-5s and zero wins. On the other hand, Tyler Reddick has a win at the 1.5-mile asphalt-shrouded oval back in 2022.

Moreover, in Bristol, how Tyler Reddick’s crew chief Billy Scott radioed the #45 driver to get a change of all 4 tires at the right moment hints at the supremacy of the number 45 pit crew over the number 23 team’s pit crew.

Watch this story: $20 Million NASCAR Rumors Swirl in After Michael Jordan Made Over $2 Billion Profit With One Sale

Hence, it is safe to say that Michael Jordan’s Cup Series prot?g? might have to surpass his own teammate in order to live up to the expectations of his bosses. Not to mention, Denny Hamlin will not leave a single stone unturned while dashing for the win. That makes the challenge even harder for him.

Tyler Reddick’s performance at Texas Motor Speedway poses a greater threat to Wallace

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Besides being a $100 million sport, NASCAR is a full-fledged entertainment business that needs contact, conflict, and controversies. A perfectly great start could turn bleak due to rain or flat tires. You could even get caught up in someone else’s problems and not be able to even complain. Such is the nature of stock car racing. Indeed, a game of luck as much as it is a game of skill.

Around the same time last year, the 500-mile-long NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway witnessed a red flag due to rain that delayed the race by 55 minutes, which again, stretched the duration of the race over 5 hours. Several playoff drivers, including the then-points leader Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, and HMS star Alex Bowman, failed to even finish the race.

According to NBC Sports, Tyler Reddick said, “I was extremely worried; I?m not going to lie. Unfortunately, just about every time we?ve had fast cars, we?ve had some tire problems. That last run, the right sides were vibrating really, really hard there.”

However, Reddick fought in the face of all adversities to secure his third win of the season and his first at an oval. After leading 70 laps, he lifted the winner’s trophy in the victory lane. This could point in the direction of Tyler Reddick being able to handle misfortune better than his teammate.

Read more: Tyler Reddick Admits Michael Jordan Wasn?t ?Expecting a Lot? From Him, But It Was a Ploy for the Best