NASCAR’s regular-season finale is almost here, and so is Bubba Wallace’s last chance to seal his payoff entry. It is not easy to keep emotions aside at this point, but all the bubble drivers are doing just that. It is time to build a functional strategy that can get sure-shot results. Going in blind will not help at Darlington Raceway.

For Wallace, the strategy is clear: it’s either stage points or the race wins. He believes Darlington is not the kind of race track where you can have both. And that presents a choice for the team depending upon the car it has.

What is Bubba Wallace’s strategy for Darlington?

Being one of the most consistent drivers for three seasons, Bubba Wallace is keen to make it into the playoffs again. He could get a good points buffer over Daniel Suarez in 2023 in the regular season finale. He would need the same this year through stage points, or an absolute race win. But he needs to decide that before going to the race.

Wallace is sure he can make the cut either way. Yet, he just needs a go for either one. There’s a development in NASCAR owing to the new-gen cars where drivers have to control their pace to preserve fuel and save time on refueling. And while Wallace isn’t a fan of having to do that, he says, “If that’s going to put you in a spot to win, then you do it.”

All those strategies dictate the race results, which are pre-decided in the weekly team meetings. In Wallace’s words, “Getting the ball rolling and getting the juices flowing on Wednesday is so we’re not, you know, ‘caught with her pants down’ as they say when that time comes around.”

He has a clear mind about what needs to be done in the upcoming race at Darlington Raceway. “You can go for points, you can go for win because the passing is at a low there, right? And I said ‘It’s simple. If you gave me the car that we had 2 years ago in Michigan, then we’re going to go for the win,” admits Wallace. He had a really fast car before the Michigan race in 2022, where he qualified for the pole and had a runner-up finish.

The 23XI #23 driver compares last year’s NASCAR Playoffs entry with this year on the Dale Jr. Download: “I think last year I went into Daytona really stressed out, right? And just wanted to race and be super focused and I think for Daytona, you can get by with that. But I think if it was Darlington, I would have crashed lap two.” So, making playoffs from Daytona was possible, but Darlington requires a better plan, as per Bubba Wallace.

So, now it all depends on what type of car the team can get him for Darlington.

Is there something Wallace needs to avoid doing in Darlington?

The strategy does play a role in defining the outcomes of a race, but then it cannot factor in the effects of uncertainties. Taking the example of Wallace’s 2022 Michigan race tells us that drivers lose all the time despite having a splendid car.

Kevin Harvick won that Michigan race entirely in Wallace’s grasp. It took one crash to crush his victory dream.

A similar situation might occur in this weekend’s Darlington race.

“We instantly knew within the first 15/20 laps we’re going for a win. So yes, we gave up points there in the 1two stages,” recalls Wallace about the 2022 Michigan race. But after the crash, he neither had the points nor reached victory lane. And he eventually ended up not making it into the playoffs.

In this season, he has already had hard luck during Daytona with the Playoffs cutoff shifting away because of a new win. So a win is a must, but crashes are likely given the high stakes. So, he also needs to be in a safe spot through the race and avoid crashes by all means, irrespective of what he chooses to take a dig at.

As Denny Hamlin commented on Actions Detrimental, Bubba Wallace just needs to

put pressure by staying in the top 3, even if he does not get the win.