Much like he did at Daytona, Bubba Wallace had to edge his way into the round of 12 of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series after the final round of 16 race at Bristol. Coming into the race, Wallace was 19 points below the cutline. But he scored 31 points to advance to the next round after Joey Logano suffered a DNF and Kevin Harvick had an absolute stinker of a race.

Bubba’s chances seemed to be hanging by a thread and the pressure was on the 29-year-old to deliver a result. After all, his teammate, Tyler Reddick, won the second round of 16 race at Kansas to book his place into the next round. He might not have done it with as much conviction as his teammate, but got the job done.

Bubba Wallace looks to ‘keep fighting’ after Bristol success

It was always going to be tight among four drivers going into the final race of the round of 16: Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, and Kevin Harvick. Harvick was only seven points ahead of the cutline. And despite being in the top 12, his place was not safe by any means.

The retiring veteran said ahead of the race that his Stewart-Haas Racing car had not been up to the mark this season. He also said that he did not worry about the things he did not have control over. There is only so much that a driver can do. And given Harvick’s skills and experience, a competitive car would have comfortably taken him through to the next round.

But one man’s pain is another’s gain. Bubba Wallace took full advantage of the opportunity. After Logano’s DNF, it was up to the 23XI Racing driver to outscore Harvick, which he did by 23 points. The veteran finished in 29th place.

2023 has seen a massive shift in Bubba Wallace’s skills and attitude as a racer. The curve has been a positive one. The 29-year-old seemed to have matured quite a lot from his earlier days in the sport. And he was the first to acknowledge it in the post-race interview. But there still is a lot of work to do.

“They say diamonds are made under pressure. I ain’t seen no diamonds yet. Bought my wife a nice one, maybe that’s the one… You got to keep fighting,” he said.

“Years ago, I’d just give up on myself, give up on the team, and set us back and just ***** complain about it and not do a good job. When you can go to bed at night knowing that you gave it your all, that’s all that matters. And we executed, we executed better than the rest, and here we are. Now we are the last one in and I gotta go do it again,” the 23XI Racing driver added.

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There have been more than one occasion where Bubba Wallace had to prove a point to his doubters. And Bristol was no different. After the race ended, it did not take long for him to flaunt his achievement in front of the Bristol crowd that wasn’t exactly cheering for the 29-year-old.

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In a separate post-race interview, Wallace invoked the 2023 US Open Women’s Singles champion Coco Gauff to prove a point to his haters.

“Good. I love that s*** right there. Counting us out. Like Coco Gauff said, all they’re doing is adding fuel to the fire. I love it,” he said as per Speedway Digest.

The 29-year-old acknowledged he was going through an important phase in his career. He said it would only make him better and hoped that his family was there to celebrate with him.

“I love where I’m at with this team. Wish my mom, dad, sister were here to celebrate with me. I mean, a career year. Just got to keep it going. Appreciate all the partners involved. Columbia has done great when they’re on the car. Hated it for them last week,” Wallace added.

Bubba Wallace will not be a favorite going into the round of 12. But he certainly will have a lot more confidence after the events at Bristol. How far do you think he can go this year in the playoffs?

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