At Pocono Raceway last weekend, Bubba Wallace faced a tough challenge that dashed his hopes for a strong finish. The No. 23 driver for 23XI Racing encountered mechanical troubles when his car failed to start for qualifying, forcing him to begin the race from the back of the pack and giving him 400 miles to climb through the field. Unfortunately, a brake failure entering Turn 2 prematurely ended his race, underscoring the difficulties Wallace and his team experienced in Pennsylvania.
Frustration and Reflection Following the Brake Failure
Wallace, a seasoned 31-year-old competitor, spoke openly about his frustration after the incident. The setback nearly triggered old doubts, reflecting on his past struggles in the sport. At EchoPark Speedway on Friday, he expressed how hard it was to accept, despite the inherent challenges of qualifying.
That was the most frustrated I’ve been in a long time,
Wallace said.
That was like a gut punch … really hard to swallow. Yeah, it’s qualifying … whatever. But it took me back to like a-few-years-ago Bubba, where it’s like, yeah, here we go. You ride on the momentum high and you get excited and have some optimism, and then you’re just smacked in the face with some B-S.
He added that although he began race day with fresh motivation, progress was slow before the brake failure ended his run prematurely.
I woke up Sunday. It was a new day and was excited to move forward in the race. Take our time. Didn’t move as forward as fast as we liked, but knew it was going to be a grind and then the brakes explode. Long story short — super frustrating.
Brake Issues Affect Entire 23XI Racing Team
Wallace’s trouble was not isolated, as the entire 23XI Racing lineup wrestled with similar brake issues at Pocono. Riley Herbst suffered the initial brake failure followed by Wallace’s incident, while Tyler Reddick opted to bring his No. 45 Toyota to the garage as a precautionary step to avoid potential problems.
Co-owner Denny Hamlin commented on Wallace’s mindset during this challenging period, highlighting the driver’s balanced approach to setbacks and accountability.
It’s not like he’s giving 23XI a free pass, right? I think that it’s just so much easier if you have issues and you want to kick and scream, like do it to us,
Hamlin said.
When you do it outwardly and into the public and the media, then it just creates a lot of other distractions that you have to deal with, and he’s made it easier.
Performance Amid Adversity Shows Resilience
Despite the difficulties, Wallace remains positioned with a 29-point lead above the playoff cutline after 17 races this season. He has failed to finish six times but demonstrated resilience by accumulating 110 stage points and maintaining top-12 finishes in the three races before Pocono.
Hamlin emphasized that the improvement largely stems from changes within Wallace himself, rather than external factors from the team or coaching.
I think it just shows how really strong they are and what they’re capable of doing,
Hamlin noted.
I truthfully think the biggest change has just come from him within more so than anything I’ve done with him or the team has done with him. We look at the biggest change obviously coming in his personal life mid last year and whatnot and I think that that’s changed [him] the most.
Looking Ahead to a Fresh Start in Atlanta
Wallace and the No. 23 team now turn their attention to the upcoming race at Atlanta, marking the middle of the NASCAR schedule. After qualifying 24th for the Quaker State 400, Wallace remains eager to reverse course and regain momentum.
We’re back at the track, so I got to keep saying it: ‘fresh set of downs’,
Wallace said.
It’ll be fun. We’ll get out of this little slump that we’re in.
The race at Atlanta on Saturday night, broadcast on TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, offers an opportunity for Bubba Wallace to recover from recent misfortunes and reestablish himself as a contender as the season progresses.
