The 2024 Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was shaping up to be a vital round for Bubba Wallace, who was in a prime spot for the title after being the only driver to bring home back-to-back top fives at Daytona and Atlanta. As Sunday approached and the 23XI racer fired up his #23 Columbia Chevrolet Camry, Wallace’s focus was on bringing home another solid result after qualifying fifth. While Wallace’s race would unfold for the worst during a pit stop, what caught the North Carolina native off-guard before the race was none other than the surprisingly hip vocabulary of Fox Sports’ newest analyst, Kevin Harvick.
Kevin Harvick shocks Bubba Wallace with his ‘hip’ vocabulary before the Vegas race
It’s only been a short while since Kevin Harvick has embarked on a role in the booth but it looks like he’s already catching up pretty well. And so far, Harvick’s time behind the Fox booth has created some funny exchanges between our favorite Cup drivers and the veteran. Before the race kicked off, Harvick got the opportunity to speak to Wallace regarding his aims for the race, leading to a hilarious exchange that no one expected.
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Asking Wallace about his prospects, Harvick said over the radio; “Bubba Wallace (this is) Kevin Harvick up in the Fox Booth, man, you have had a great start to this season with two top-five finishes and it looks like you got a great car today, what do you think?”
Wallace shared with Harvick and Bowyer who were in the Fox Booth, “Yeah, what’s up Kevin, man you know, we’re doing exactly what we wanted to do; start this season off a little different than my last six. So, proud of the team, proud of the effort from everybody in the 23 team, we’ve been doing a really good job so yeah, gotta keep it up. It’s only the third race in so, top fives are great but you’ve got to make them last, you’ve got to make the momentum last, that’s what we’re focused on today.”
So far, Harvick had asked Wallace a well-rounded question surrounding his chances but what triggered the 23XI Driver to burst into laughter was when Harvick channelled his inner Gen Z. He stated; “Alright, buddy. Well, that Columbia Camry looks pretty lit today, so floor that thing.” For a second, there was complete silence as Bowyer and Wallace comprehended what Harvick had just said. Soon enough, Wallace retorted, “Haha, you’re too old to be saying it like that!”
🔥 @KevinHarvick knows all the cool lingo the kids use. No cap. pic.twitter.com/kXMMKAJ4FQ
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 3, 2024
As Kevin Harvick inches closer to the noble 50 mark, Wallace rather harshly pointed out how the new analyst could perhaps go easy on the Gen Z lingo. With that said, Bubba Wallace wasn’t the one laughing at the end of the race as a poor pitstop left Wallace stranded down in 37th. On the other hand, the community couldn’t help but wonder if the NC native could have done more to help out Tyler Reddick against race-winner Kyle Larson.
Could Bubba Wallace have helped Tyler Reddick beat Kyle Larson?
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For Bubba Wallace, the Pennzoil 400 could not have unfolded for the worse. Not only did Wallace miss out on being competitive owing to a faulty lug nut during his stage 2 pitstop. As the crew tried to change all four tyres, one of them wouldn’t come undone, leaving Wallace with no option but to come in again later.
With all the time the pit-stop ate up, Wallace was down multiple laps and in P35, an unfortunate position considering how fast the Camry XSE was. Speaking of which, Wallace’s teammate, Tyler Reddick, was looking like a prime contender for the win from the very first stage, with Larson edging the #45 Camry XSE for the lead right until the very end.
However, the outcome could have been very different if Bubba Wallace had managed to hold up Larson longer on the straights, as Reddick was right on his toes. On the last corner, Reddick managed to get within a car length of Larson’s Camaro, leaving the winner no room to breathe. Had Wallace been able to help out his teammate for longer, Denny Hamlin’s day could have become a whole lot better.
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Kyle Larson also reflected on how close Reddick was to winning, and if Wallace’s aid could have helped out. He stated after the race, “I was hoping those guys were gonna get racing a little bit longer behind me ’cause I felt like he (Reddick) was gonna time out to where he was running really hard and getting the toe to catch me at the end. Thankfully, I was able to airblock him a couple of laps and get him tight, I thought him and Bubba were going to work together again to build a run but so I was happy that didn’t happen.”
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It’s safe to say Bubba Wallace’s streak of brilliant results came to an unfortunate end at the Vegas Motor Speedway, owing to no fault of his own. But could the 23XI Driver have played the team game for longer?