Bubba Wallace‘s pole win, 23XI Racing’s one last bet to get both cars in the playoffs, a regular-season championship at stake at the hands of an ailing Tyler Reddick, and a grueling day of racing 500 miles in scorching heat on a track “too tough to tame,” Darlington Raceway, wasn’t going to give away much. Owner Michael Jordan—who saw #45 gutting it out to stay in one piece, defeating Larson by 1 point to win the regular-season championship—was left halfway feeling sad for Bubba after being collected in a late wreck.

Wallace whipped up a mighty narrative surrounding his playoff hopes at the Southern 500. He flagged off the race on a strong note, leading for 37 laps. However, a rival who led fewer laps than him beat him on pit strategy, leaving the likes of Dale Earnhardt Jr. disappointed. As Chase Briscoe soared ahead, Dale Jr. lamented about Wallace’s fortune and the primary reason for Briscoe’s victory.

In the September 3 episode of Dale Jr. Download, the veteran racer observed the superior tire plan that Briscoe’s team put into action. At the same time, Bubba Wallace disappointed him. 6-time NBA champion Michael Jordan also slipped out the wish to ‘put the ball in my hand’ as Wallace’s hopes faded. Dale Earnhardt Jr. appreciated that basketball analogy, applicable to the No. 23 driver’s pit strategy, and lamented about Wallace’s dashed hopes.

“That’s kind of a great analogy…Putting the ball in the guy’s hand, giving him the tire advantage. It’s like you’re on the 10-yard line, are you gonna throw it to your star receiver? Or the guy that’s starting his first game playing the slot? Don’t throw it to the guy who has no real experience, right? I mean, you’re gonna throw it to your best player.” 

Beating defending Southern 500 winner Kyle Larson by 0.023 seconds set a high tone for Wallace at Darlington. However, Wallace couldn’t overcome Larson’s dominance, who led for 263 laps and two stage wins before a wreck. The field got shuffled after that with Chase Briscoe taking the lead on the final restart after leading the final 17 laps and Larson finally settling for a decent P4 finish. Wallace’s lost track position led to a 16th-place finish. No doubt, Michael Jordan felt crushed at the lost opportunity but he didn’t lose sight of the silver lining at the end of what was a trying day. He said,

 “I’m still disappointed. Obviously, I’m disappointed we didn’t get both cars in. Bubba did a great job in qualifying and trying to get himself in. But that disappointment makes me a little bit happy to see Reddick fighting himself to a championship. I’m kind of halfway feeling better and halfway feeling sad.

“I mean, I know what it feels like to be sick and trying to perform, and just to do what he did, I mean, I wasn’t going around 200 miles an hour in a car, but I’m proud of his effort, and we needed it. We won by one point.” In fact, Reddick, despite having a stomach bug during the Southern 500 race, had just one hand on the wheel at times, “waiting to puke all over myself” and still managed a better finish than Wallace—10th. The #45 driver admitted to losing balance at some point and dropped his pills inside the car only to be later provided with a water bottle with pills crushed up.

Let us not forget how the #23 driver’s journey has been turbulent at 23XI Racing. Wallace is in his fourth year with the team and even though he showed promise earlier, playoff appearances have been scarce; just once in four years. On the other hand, his teammate, Reddick, won two races in the last two years and also snatched the regular season championship.

Wallace and Chris Buescher are looking forward to the future!

Bubba Wallace shifted sides along the playoff cutline several times during the race. At one point, a slim chance appeared that Wallace may actually topple Chris Buescher from his 16th playoff spot. But Briscoe’s victory sealed both drivers’ hopes, as the Stewart-Haas Racing driver became the 14th race winner to crack the playoffs.

Despite coming dangerously close to the postseason, Wallace moved on from his misery and looked ahead. “You go up and down and round and round. Gotta put this weekend behind and put the disappointment behind of not making the playoffs and go give your all for the next 10 [races].”

His teammate Tyler Reddick also harbors a positive mindset, although he has more reason to. The No. 45 driver beat Larson by a single point to clinch the regular season title. And he dedicated that victory to 23XI’s hardworking fold, constantly molding a bright future.

“Yeah, it’s just a testament to all the hard work that everyone at 23XI, here at the race track, week in and week out, back at Airspeed, puts into this. We’re on Year 4 of their goals, right? It’s just been really, really fun the last two years to be a part of this process, building up to where we want to be.”

Clearly, the 23XI motto is to keep improving oneself no matter what. So despite Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s complaints, we may see Bubba Wallace breaking expectations soon. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.