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USA Today via Reuters
May 22, 2022; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney (12) celebrates in Victory lane with NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace (23) after winning the All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
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USA Today via Reuters
May 22, 2022; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney (12) celebrates in Victory lane with NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace (23) after winning the All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
High-octane racing and nail-biting finishes are what NASCAR is all about. The race for a playoff berth is getting more spirited every weekend and so is the commotion around it. While the drivers look to accelerate their chances of getting into the playoffs, the intensity on and off the track keeps increasing.
Ryan Blaney‘s victory at this year’s chaotic Coca-Cola 600 saw him end a 59-race winless streak. That also propelled the Team Penske driver to second in projected playoff standings. Another driver who had a great outing in Charlotte is Bubba Wallace. The 23XI Racing driver secured yet another top-5 finish in the longest race of the season. Although his bromance with Blaney is pretty well known, he couldn’t hide his feelings about Blaney’s win complicating things in the playoff run.
Bubba Wallace contemplates the possibility of losing the playoff spot
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As the playoffs keep inching closer, so does the nervousness among winless drivers. In a recent interview, Wallace looked a tad skeptical over the chances of a spot at the current pace. The #23 Camry driver currently sits at 15th in the points table with no wins yet to his name this season, while his friend Blaney’s win at Charlotte makes him the driver with the highest points this season.
“You know it’s a different run of show from last year I think at this point, I don’t know how many winners we have had. […] A little bit you know I think when we’re riding fourth or fifth and last couple laps you’re like all right it’s the #8 or the #5 or the #24, they’re already good,” said Wallace.
Then he moved on to the topic of his close friend Blaney’s heist at Charlotte. He mentioned, “I was pumped for Blaney but I was like d*mn, that’s a spot gone. So you know we’re paying attention to that stuff but you know you can’t get too far ahead and start thinking about that stuff. You still gotta go on, execute and you know when the time is right, it’ll show up. So we’ll keep putting our name in the hat and showcasing that we’re here.”
Talking about his performances in the regular season races compared to the playoffs, he said, “I don’t know I think there’s a lot of opportunity for sure but you know I think we can only worry so much about ourselves and that’s the most important thing. So, it’d be great to get us to win in the regular season, we’re good at winning in the off-season, or post-season I should say. But yeah, we just gotta keep executing the way we’re doing.”
Bubba’s words depict perfectly the intense pressure he must be feeling for the playoffs berth. With the season gradually progressing to that stage, the competition for points will only increase with time.
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Further along in the interview, Wallace was questioned about whether he had any expectations from the Chicago race and the build-up to that. He replied, “I haven’t really had a desire to. No honestly, we haven’t but you know right now it’s three or four races away. We got a nice off weekend, so I’m looking forward to that. We’ll get into that next week.”
He then went on to add a sly hilarious comment about teammate Tyler Reddick as well. Calling himself a bit different from Reddick, he said he’s got his nerves under control. “Tyler, I think he sleeps and thinks about it every night. It’s a little different.”
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/tt-4.jpg?width=150&blur=15)
via Imago
R: Bubba Wallace L: Tyler Reddick. Image Credits: Imago.
It’s good to see Bubba be aware of how tough the situation around qualification is. With drivers like William Byron and Kyle Larson already taking up the higher slots, it is a tough task ahead for the other drivers.
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