The reigning champion of the Kansas Speedway fall race, Bubba Wallace, was seemingly all set to conquer the track once again. In fact, for some time, it even looked like he was on his way to make it through, while he ran 2nd to Kyle Larson.

However, in a twist of fate that might have been a bid to put to rest Kyle Petty’s remark about him being “mentally fragile,” Wallace’s silver lining turned stormy. A spanner in the works, involving the NASCAR partner worth a whopping 3.79 billion, sent his dreams of victory up in smoke.

Bubba Wallace lost his track position owing to an issue addressed several times by other drivers

In the fast-paced world of racing, where every turn can throw a curveball, Michael Jordan‘s star found himself on a slippery slope. When the grand finale of the regular season was on the horizon, he was biting his nails about making the playoffs. Under the weight of this pressure, Wallace chose to zip his lips and avoid the media’s spotlight before the big race. The move didn’t sit well with NASCAR’s knight in shining armor, Kyle Petty. He weighed in, pointing out that drivers should always step up to the plate when it comes to interviews. He quipped, “If mentally he is that fragile, then maybe this is not the game for him, honestly.”

While Wallace did step into the limelight before the Darlington race, clarifying he was just meeting his responsibilities, one could sense he was chomping at the bit to prove Petty wrong on the track. At Kansas, as luck would have it, when push came to shove, Wallace’s wheels let him down. On the 108th lap, it was as if his car threw a shoe—he lost a tire and met the wall. Though he raced to the pit stop, hoping to turn the tables, it was clear that the car’s ailment wasn’t a quick fix.

One has to wonder, was this hiccup one of the failures during the pre-race checkup? Add to that the absence of his crew chief for the upcoming quartet of races, and it was a recipe for potential disaster. 

Moreover, the saga of the Goodyear Tires isn’t a new song. The NASCAR giant, with its staggering $3.79 billion valuation, has been in the hot seat before, with several pointing fingers at their rubbery shortcomings.

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NASCAR drivers time and again have called out Goodyear

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In NASCAR, where burning rubber is the norm, Goodyear’s tires have been under the microscope more often than not. It wasn’t just a flash in the pan when Tony Stewart took center stage, throwing shade at Goodyear with some sharp critiques who in 2009 wasn’t happy that two of his cars were wrecked because of the celebrated tire manufacturer’s shortcomings. .

This opened the floodgates, with a slew of drivers, including Kevin Harvick back in 2018, echoing the same sentiments after his tires went flat at Los Angeles. Even NASCAR’s poster boy Chase Elliott wasn’t spared from the troubles manufactured by Goodyear back in May.

Yet, in the face of such backlash, NASCAR, in its wisdom or folly, seems to be sticking to its guns, maintaining its alliance with Goodyear. But what’s your take? Should NASCAR keep dancing with Goodyear, even if the tires seem to be biting the dust more often, leading to numerous track mishaps?

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