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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

The NASCAR Cup race at the Kansas Speedway concluded with Kurt Busch winning the race. Meanwhile, teammate Bubba Wallace capped off a mixed day in the office with a 10th place finish.

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Normally, this would be the point where a lot many people question his abilities. However, there are some extenuating circumstances that prevented him from getting any higher than the edge of the Top 10.

As per the stats, the #23 driver pulled off a grand total of 123 passes in green flag conditions. The only one who got close to him was team co-owner and competitor Denny Hamlin, with 121 passes.

READ MORE: Denny Hamlin Admits 23XI Racing Have Let Down an “Extremely Fast” and Down on His Luck Bubba Wallace

It is also worth mentioning that Bubba Wallace also topped the quality passes list. In fact, he racked up 60 of those passes, and the nearest rival was Kyle Larson with 52.

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How did Bubba Wallace perform in the race?

Admittedly, the road to 10th place was an arduous one, as he overcame a lot of hurdles. To be precise, he got slapped with two penalties, both of which sent him to the back of the pack. This was largely because Wallace encountered problems in his pit stops. Nevertheless, he simply put his head down and charged up the order on both occasions.

via Getty

Without a doubt, this proved that without those penalties, he would have definitely been up there challenging for the race win. In spite of all the in-race problems and the frustration, 10th place is still quite impressive. Of course, one cannot help but wonder what could have been had he not picked up the penalties?

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Now, the #23 driver cannot afford to dwell on his losses. Instead, he will move on and try to perform better at the next race. Of course, he will still have to deal with his critics. However, we can be sure that Bubba Wallace is just biding his time until he can finally shut them up for good.