Bubba Wallace will soon enter what will probably be his most important race of the season. The Darlington race for the #23 is a must-win and the last chance to make it to the playoffs. He has a strong chance going into the race as he will be starting from the pole position in the Cookout Southern 500. This is his first pole in the 2024 season so far.

But before the crucial race. Bubba Wallace, probably in an attempt to blow off some steam, raced in the recent Legends race at Florence Motor Speedway. Time and again, the #23 likes to keep visiting his roots. However, in the race, the 23XI driver was taken by surprise at how competitive US Legends racing has become. He spoke about how he got schooled by Kevin Harvick’s son.

When Bubba Wallace lost to Kevin Harvick’s son

Bubba Wallace began his racing career at nine, competing in the Bandolero and US Legends car series, quickly making a name for himself by winning 35 out of 48 races in the Bandolero Series in 2005. In 2008, he became the youngest driver to win at Virginia’s Franklin County Speedway. Despite his full-time Cup Series career, Wallace frequently returns to his roots, showing how important they remain to him.

Just a day before his big Cup Series race, Wallace competed in the Cookout 225 at Florence Motor Speedway, where Kevin Harvick’s 12-year-old son, Keelan, took the win—his 17th victory in 41 races this year. Wallace finished 6th and reflected on the challenge of racing against young talent like Keelan in a league he once dominated at the same age.

Post the race, Wallace said, “Got my A– kicked by that kid!” (Shaking his head laughing) But it was all in good fun as Keelan and Wallace share a good relationship off the track.

Recently, the 23XI racer had told the youngster that he wished to be like him. Wallace further dwelled upon how competitive Keelan and US Legends Cars have become. “He’s competitive, he’s fast, he’s fun, he’s a cool kid. All the kids over there with Joe Ryan, he’s got a good group of kids driving for him. And me popping over there, I am telling them what not to do as I have been in their shoes. Every single one of them is competitive.” A stamp of approval from a Cup Series driver means great things await the Harvick legacy.

Although disappointed by his legend’s run, his plan to distract himself from the big race seems to have worked wonderfully. He’s got the car; Wallace, although winless, has five top-5 finishes and ten top-10 finishes. He will be entering the race with a high of finishing 6th on the iconic Daytona track. Does Wallace have what it takes to qualify for the playoffs?

Bubba Wallace’s chances to qualify for the payoffs

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Wallace has done half the work. A P1 in qualifying is just what he needed. Now the #23 team has to carefully execute their plans, maintaining their lead and winning their way into the playoffs. Anything less than a win can prove to be detrimental to the chances of Bubba Wallace. He will be entering the race -21 points behind Chris Buecher, who has a stellar record at the track. The #17 finished 3rd and will surely give Wallace a hard time as he too is eyeing his first win.

Although the task isn’t simple, he has done the same in the past. In the 2023 season, Bubba Wallace was winless yet held his nerves and qualified in the 16th position in points behind Kevin Harvick. A similar situation arose in the playoff race in Bristol, where the 23XI driver entered the race trailing with -19 points but somehow managed to finish above the cutoff line with +4 points, advancing to the next round. A repeat of this performance is what Bubba Wallace exactly needs.

Wallace is positive about his chances. After getting the pole, he said, “Anything can happen. We saw that last week. So we have to run our own race and it makes it a lot easier for us. I have the first pit stall, and as long as we executive and make the right calls and do great on pit road. All I want for every single person on this team, including myself, is to go to bed tomorrow night and know we did everything we could, we did all we could.”

Do you think Bubba Wallace can make it to the playoffs? Let us know in the comments below.