The 2024 season for Bubba Wallace has been full of ups and downs. The #23 remained winless, and after a few good finishes at the start of the season, it was a bit of a struggle for the #23 camp in the middle part, finishing seven times 20th or worse in a race. However, it all changed after the Nashville race.

In the last 15 races, the #23 driver has had an average finish of 13.3, which is better than championship 4 drivers Joey Logano (17.9), Ryan Blaney (15.6) and Tyler Reddick (15.3). Even William Byron is only a point better, with 13.2. However, while the Wallace faction was hoping to finish the season on a high note, a controversy has put a stop to it. At the Martinsville race, Wallace and Team Toyota have been accused of race manipulation, and NASCAR has slapped a severe penalty on the team. Thanks to this, Wallace won’t have his crew chief, spotter, and race executive for the season finale.

Bubba Wallace gets a new spotter for Pheonix

What happened was that Christopher Bell was trailing in the battle with William Byron for the final spot in the championship 4. Bell only needed a single point to draw things with Byron. And a draw was good enough for the #20 team. According to the NASCAR rule, in case of a draw, the driver with the best finish in any of the three races of round three progresses. And Bell had his P2 finish at Las Vegas to thank. At the final stretch of the race, Wallace suddenly slowed down to let Bell pass.

This had NASCAR issue him and his team with a race manipulation penalty. While the Wallace faction denied the allegation, saying the car slowed down due to a tire problem, NASCAR, in their inspection, found no truth to that claim. Hence, Bubba Wallace has been fined $1,00,00 along with docking 50 points off his season. And his team has been charged with an even harsher penalty, along with a fine of $100,000, Wallace’s crew chief, Bootie Barker, spotter, Freddie Kraft, and team executive, Dave Rogers, have been suspended for the upcoming Phoenix race.

It must be a bumper to not end the season with the same guys who helped Wallace reach this splendid consistency this season. The #23 team has had their best season ever, with six top 5s and thirteen top 10s in the 35 races so far. However, as recently reported by NASCAR Journalist Joseph Srigley, Wallace will have TJ Bell as the spotter for the Phoenix weekend. Srigley wrote on X, “TJ Bell will serve as the interim spotter for Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE at Phoenix Raceway, per NASCAR’s Roster Portal.”

 

 

Bell was the spotter for the #7 team of Corey LaJoie but was suddenly ousted by Spire Motorsports mid-season after Stefan Parsons replaced him. The reasons for Bell parting ways with Spire are still unclear. Bell also was the spotter for the #45 truck in the Craftsman Truck Series for Kayden Honeycutt.

Now the veteran will be seen again spotting in the Cup for Wallace in the Phoenix race. Freddie Kraft, handing over the baton to Bell, wrote on X, “Thanks to TJ Bell for filling in this weekend.” This comes after the 23XI racing team has decided not to appeal the NASCAR penalty and focus on finishing their season strong. The team has also recently named Bootie Barker’s replacement in the #23 team for the Phoenix weekend.

Who will be Bubba Wallace’s crew chief for the last race?

The 23XI racing earlier had decided to appeal the penalty but have rolled back on it. Their statement read, “After internal deliberations, 23XI has decided not to appeal NASCAR’s decision to penalize the No. 23 team. We disagree with the penalty ruling and strongly believe we did not break any rules at Martinsville. It is our conclusion that it is in our best interests, and those of our team members, partners, and fans to fully devote our personnel and resources this week toward the championship and not an appeal.”

Bubba Wallace

And it has recently been revealed that veteran crew chief Eric Phillips will take Barker’s place. FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass shared the update on X. Pockrass wrote, “Eric Phillips, who won 44 races as a truck crew chief and plays a key role in the 23XI Racing shop operations and was the crew chief for the team’s No. 50 car for its races last year, will crew chief for Bubba Wallace this weekend.”

He also serves as the racing director of the 23XI team. Phillips is one of the winningest crew chiefs in the Truck Series, also winning two owner championships in 2010 and 2014 for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Wallace has been winless since 2022 and is looking to break that streak. And amid this controversy, the #23 team would be looking to end their season on a high with a top-5 finish at Phoenix, which is something Wallace hasn’t yet done on the track. His best finish in Phoenix has been a P10, which came in the 2023 season finale. In the spring race, Wallace finished in 16th place. The focus of the Wallace faction would definitely be running at the top and also helping the #45 team, as Tyler Reddick would be aiming to bag his and the team’s first championship.

Do you think 23XI Racing can win the Cup championship this year?