Just picture this: Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace making it into the championship 4 or even winning the 2023 title. An African-American driver winning a Cup Series championship would be one of the sport’s most remarkable achievements.

Unfortunately, things are far from a picture-perfect ending. The Alabama native, who is often lauded as a speedway specialist, has the odds stacked against him this time around. This is despite making the playoffs for the very first time in his career.

Though Wallace is revered for being a consistent driver in intermediate tracks like Kansas, he is currently at the bottom of the 12 in terms of points. He is barely making it to the next round after an eventful eliminator in Bristol.

Bubba Wallace and his uncertain playoff hopes

NASCAR’s silly season so far has been typical, to say the least. NASCAR nation last week witnessed the unpredictable nature of the sport to its full extent when the reigning champion, Joey Logano went crashing out in the first eliminator. In total, four drivers made their way out, including the seasoned veteran Kevin Harvick.

On the flip side, for the first time in his 5 seasons in NASCAR’s top-tier division, Bubba Wallace has made the playoffs making his bosses Denny Hamlin & Michael Jordan proud. With Logano ending his day in an awful wreck, Wallace saw the opportunity and finished 14th barely making it into the 2nd round.

While the driver brilliantly adopted a safe and smooth strategy to cruise into the playoff 16 solely on points, that is simply not the case anymore. The 29-year-old needs a W under this belt to advance further and things don’t look good for him. Especially given the races and venues for the 2nd playoff rounder.

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With Wallace at the bottom, 3000 points in hand coming off 4 top 5 finishes, the driver’s chances are narrow. Especially given the tough trio of tracks – fast Texas, unpredictable Talladega, and Charlotte’s loopy road course. Now if you consider the upcoming race at Texas Motor Speedway for instance, according to driver averages.com, Wallace has an average finish of 27.3 coming out of 4 starts. And equating that to the playoff contention, that certainly doesn’t add well for him.

Despite the driver making the playoffs, Wallace’s team is out of the tournament

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Though 1 of 2 wins came at Kansas Speedway last year, consistency is one aspect, Wallace has had trouble in the past. Especially this season. Rattled with bad luck, one look at Wallace’s 2023 resume will reveal the driver’s troubled self. Even though the driver got over his emotional self owing to his team’s expectations, Wallace’s troubles are far from over.

Following last week’s race in Bristol, Wallace took a couple of minutes to process things as he sat in his car. The driver then came out to a hostile crowd and said: “I love that s— right there.” While Wallace made it into the playoffs, edging out other contenders and earning the 16th spot, it was HMS’ Chase Elliott who beat the #23 for the 16th spot in the owner’s playoffs.

Ironically, the 2020 Cup Series champion, Elliott missed the playoffs for the very first time in his 8 season career while Wallace made the 16 for the first time in his career. While one secured a berth for the title contention, the other secured a berth for his team for the owner’s title.

Though the driver was drained “mentally” as he relayed it in the post-race interview, a mixture of his team’s resilience and other driver’s troubles might propel him further into the chase. However, considering the crucial nature of the playoff stage and its overwhelming pressure on drivers, anything and everything is up for grabs.

READ MORE: “He’s Never Been Good” – Bubba Wallace’s Biggest Weakness Exposed by Insiders as They Applaud Michael Jordan’s Star’s Ability to Overcome It