“Not Gonna Make the Playoffs” – Bubba Wallace’s Road Course Demons May Rise Again Despite Decent Runs of Late, Says NASCAR Analyst

After the numbers that confirmed who the 2023 season’s round of 12 entrants came flying out the doors of the NASCAR HQ, Bubba Wallace’s sigh of relief sounded loudest. With just one top-10 finish in the first round of the playoffs, the 23XI Racing star managed to keep his title hopes breathing for yet another week. A P7 finish at Darlington, P34 at Kansas, and P14 at Bristol later, he moves into the second stage with no playoff points, clinging to the 12th place behind his friend, the Team Penske star Ryan Blaney.

Talking of the driver’s chances of surviving in the highly competitive tracks that are coming up ahead in the second round, NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton disclosed his interesting opinions to NBC reporter Nate Ryan.

Jeff Burton doesn’t think Bubba Wallace can win at the Roval in a do-or-die situation

The 2023 playoffs are 29-year-old Bubba Wallace’s maiden appearance at this level of the competition. Scraping through to the fray narrowly on the final race of the regular season at Daytona, he managed to get a spot in the final 16. Starting off his run with a promising race at Darlington, he quickly fell back over the next two races and now faces a similar situation as he barely gets into the round of 12. How long can he manage to feed off the bottom going ahead?

The upcoming races of the second stage will be held in Texas, Talladega, and Charlotte. While all three tracks have their own set of challenges, the concluding race at the Roval will play the decision maker about who will make it to the round of 8. It is for this very specific reason that it is very crucial for Bubba Wallace. Should he once again face a situation where he leaves it until the last minute to decide his fate, would he fare well? Jeff Burton doesn’t think so despite the driver’s growing expertise in road courses.

Talking to Nate about a possible do-or-die situation, he said, “I don’t believe he’s going to contend for the win at the Roval but is that what he has to do to win to advance? We don’t know that yet. If he gets put in a situation where he’s got to win at the Roval, he’s probably not gonna make the playoff next round of the playoffs, right? But if he gets in a situation where he needs to have a kind of night like he had at Bristol, he’s shown us he can do that.”

While the former NASCAR racer’s comments of disbelief aren’t very moralizing, Gordon did have to agree with the incredible effort that was going on in the garages of 23XI Racing.

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Bubba Wallace’s growing prowess in road courses and his chances to survive the second stage

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Despite not throwing a lot of confidence behind Bubba’s chances to conquer the Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jeff did acknowledge his team’s efforts in making him a better road course driver. He said, “Bubba at that last road course… the last two road course races. Stepped up. And so the processes that they’re using to help him become a better road racer are working.” The driver had finished P12 and P18 in his last two road course races. But clearly, those results didn’t extend as much as betting on him for a win.

With NASCAR deciding to bring back stage-break cautions for the race at the Roval, Bubba’s chances might be slightly amplified but the challenge he faces from his contenders is incredibly tall. With just two top 10 road course finishes in his entire career, it would be better for him and his No. 23 crew if they could somehow manage to secure their round of 8 spot before they get to Charlotte. But again, that’s easier said than done. The driver has fared better at the Roval when compared to Talladega or Texas.

End of the day, 23XI Racing has got behind its Toyota, a driver who has to create newness in his forthcoming races. The first challenge that he will face at Texas next week will provide a preview of what is to come. Let us know in the comments below what you think of Bubba Wallace’s chances to move ahead to the round of 8 this year!

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