The pressure is piling on quickly for Bubba Wallace, with only seven races left to make the playoffs. While his 23XI Racing teammate, Tyler Reddick, is already locked in after that glorious victory at Talladega, things do not look good for the #23 driver, who’s been winless since the fall of ‘22. Moreover, he sits first, just 51 points outside the playoff bubble.

It seems a win is all that can realistically help Bubba’s case, as Denny Hamlin is certainly “not overjoyed with the performance and speed at 23XI right now.” And with only 5 spots remaining on an intensifying bubble battle, Kevin Harvick has spoken out about the writings on the wall awaiting Bubba.

Bubba Wallace faces a playoff pressure cooker

With a brand new 16-million-dollar headquarters recently opened in Huntersville, his team is only eager to build on their recent successes. That means Bubba must turn up for good when it matters to solidify his seat in the bigger picture, which is the long run. Earlier in the week, a report by Bob Pockrass of FOX suggested that “Bubba Wallace isn’t signed yet for next year but is expected to return.” Hence, that will surely provide Bubba with some positives to reflect upon.

But his team owner, Hamlin (also locked into the playoffs with Joe Gibbs’ #11 team), will expect a lot more than just a few bare positives. After all, last year received congratulations from 23XI’s other owner, NBA legend Michael Jordan himself, after both 23XI cars made the playoffs for the first time.

But this year, everyone involved faces a different scenario. Kevin Harvick explained it to his co-hosts Kaitlyn Vincie and Mamba Smith on the Happy Hour episode aired on July 3rd, “I’m telling you if one person outside of that top 16 wins. It’s really going to get interesting because of the fact that you have Martin Truex, I feel like he’s the only guy that’s safe on points. Ross Chastain, Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher and I can’t remember who’s 16th, but Bubba is out…

With a little help from Mamba, the Closer would recall, “Alex Bowman… So Bubba is out by like 51 points. He’s in trouble and I think from his standpoint, I think he’d like to see his cars run faster, but I think they’re capable of buckling down and finding some speed. It’s just a matter of those racetracks match up right, because you’ve got Chicago Street course, you’ve got Daytona Superspeedway which they’ll run good at. You’ve got another: the Richmond race. You’ve got some very unique race tracks he can run good at.”

Statistically, Bubba’s best five tracks since his debut on June 11, 2017, at Pocono, have been, the Indy Road Course, Daytona, Nashville, Brickyard’s oval layout, & Martinsville, in that particular order. Bubba Wallace is what some would call a ‘superspeedway specialist’ and has an average finish of 23.5 on road courses, such as the makeshift Chicago ‘Street’ Circuit awaiting the Cup Series in Windy City next Sunday.

Nevertheless, Kevin Harvick also observed that the No. 23 driver might “run good at Michigan, so you know, I think there are some race tracks that are good for him for the rest of the year, but it’s a matter of getting into the playoffs. And those races that they have leading up to the playoffs.”

Harvick’s analysis hit the nail on the head regarding Bubba’s potential absence from the 2024 playoffs. Even more so, considering 5 very hungry and winless drivers stand in his way to claim one of those spots for a chance at the postseason. Regardless, Bubba has Denny’s full support as the field is getting tighter than ever, with only 5 spots remaining for a chance at ultimate NASCAR glory.

But with drivers like Kyle Busch & Chase Briscoe trailing Bubba in the playoff bubble, his honest admission in Nashville last Sunday makes a lot of sense in retrospect.

Denny Hamlin expects results from his #23

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NASCAR’s NextGen picture reveals an enriching side to Bubba Wallace’s preparations and the closer parity evident through Bubba’s statements to FOX journalist, Bob Pockrass during a pre-race interview in Nashville. “I’ve tried to come into this year way more prepared than I have been, studying more film, being more attentive in the meetings, asking, I would think more of the right questions, but just asking more questions in general… It’s hard, man. We’re fighting for thousandths of an inch.”

He admitted, “That’s what it’s all about and I say we have enough smart people on our team… As much as we’re off, it’s not much, but it’s just enough to keep us working hard and trying to find out what it is to get back to where we ran last year.” Bubba’s run of form has seen some disappointments this season in the form of three DNFs.

If all goes well and Bubba Wallace goes the next seven races on a highly speculative streak of P10 finishes, he will theoretically score 189 points, which could be enough to push him just past the playoffs. But that will only happen on the condition that either one of the five potential contenders inside the bubble mentioned by Kevin Harvick above places consistently worse than Bubba for the next seven races without any positive stage finishes.

Denny Hamlin emphasized the importance of the remaining races at another pre-race presser in Nashville, stating they’ve been working with Bubba Wallace to navigate challenges. He even told Wallace that only a few races remain to secure a playoff spot, “and it certainly means a lot to us (23XI Racing) to make the playoffs and certainly to him to make the playoffs.”

How does it all play out with the 2024 NASCAR season almost knocking on the playoff’s door? Bubba should be hoping for a better finish than last year’s P31 finish at the 2023 Chicago Street Race, first and foremost.