As a car drives past the checkered flag, it is usually the driver who is given the credit for the win. But, a racer usually has over 100 people backing him or her at every step of the race. From the crew chief to pit stop members, mechanics, and engineers, there is a mammoth team running the operations behind the scenes. One such member is the race spotter for each individual driver, acting as the eyes and ears for drivers throughout the race. Spotters are essential for the safety of drivers and one wrong call could cost them the entire race.

Fortunately for 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, his spotter at Daytona International Speedway made all the right ones.

Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, played a key role at Daytona

The Coke Zero Sugar 400 witnessed one of the most dramatic races of the year in the fight for the last remaining playoff position. Unfortunately, multiple crashes also took place in the midst of this. At the end of Stage 1, a massive collision occurred involving 16 drivers. Christopher Bell, driving the No. 20 Toyota, bumped into the No. 54 of Ty Gibbs, which thrust Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney hard into the wall. In these circumstances, Wallace needed to avoid the crash without losing his momentum.

Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, talked about the situation in ‘Door Bumper Clear’ podcast, along with co-host Brett Griffin. Griffin enquired how Kraft navigated those tense conditions in the race.

He said, “At one point Freddie came down to me and I said, man are you good? And he said, not really, everybody that has just gotten out of a wreck has won a race. How many people out here that have already won races, so was uh probably a little stressful for you at times right?”

Kraft recounted how tightly packed the cars were at one point in the race. But he was aware that you can only have a handle on your own car. That’s where he put his focus on for Wallace.

He said, “uh you know I mean you kinda trying to do what you can do to control it, I mean you can only control it your own car so you know we were there was one point where we felt like the pack was a little bit sketchy so we got out, rode around on the back and then they all wrecked obviously at the end of the second stage.”

Watch this story: Bubba Wallace exposes boss Denny Hamlin’s black lie in Ponoco feud

Wallace finished 12th without getting entangled in it, securing a spot in the playoffs for his team 23XI Racing. He made it a point to mention Kraft’s contribution to it.

Bubba Wallace thankful for race spotter Freddie Kraft after avoiding Dayton wreck

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Bubba Wallace knew this was his shot at securing his first-ever playoff spot in his six years of racing in the Cup series. He had to maintain his points lead against close contenders, like Ty Gibbs. In such a case, a wreck of that scale could have put Wallace’s playoff aspirations and his future with Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing in jeopardy. However, Wallace knew he could count on Kraft.

Kraft is known for his controversial race opinions in his podcast. In the past, he hasn’t shied away from commenting severely upon popular racers and contentious racing events. Nonetheless, his sincerity while spotting for Wallace is commendable. The same was evident in Wallace’s post-race interview, where he praised Kraft for his unmatched skills.

“That was the most stressed but also the most locked-in that I’ve ever been. Knowing that this place is mostly out of your control, I just tried to focus on doing the things that I could do. Missing that wreck was massive. Appreciate Freddie. He’s one of the best up on the roof. Gets us through that a lot. That’s what helps our resume here with the speedway stuff.”

Consequently, with Bubba Wallace in, 23XI Racing has both their drivers competing for the championship. Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 had already finalized its place by winning at COTA in March. Do you think Denny Hamlin’s team has what it takes to win it all?

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