On the strength of back-to-back third-place finishes at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway, Bubba Wallace finds himself in the eighth position in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings heading into this weekend’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. In his fifth season with 23XI Racing, Wallace is enjoying the best start to a season, marking a significant leap forward in his eight-year NASCAR Cup Series career. A big part of that success can be attributed to Charles Denike, Wallace’s new crew chief this season, who brought fresh energy and strategy to the 23XI Racing team after several seasons in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
While Wallace’s impressive speed on the track has been a highlight this year, neither he nor the No. 23 team plans to rest on their laurels. “All signs are pointing upward,” Wallace expressed in an exclusive interview with Racing America On SI following the announcement of a new sponsorship deal with Robinhood. “It’s nice to have some results to follow up with the effort that we’re putting in, but it’s a long season. [You] Can’t get complacent gotta keep it going. We have a lot of good tracks coming up. Darlington and Bristol coming up for sure are two [tracks] that we’re excited for. It takes a whole army to make everything happen for our race team, and it’s nice to see it all being put together.”
Denike, in his debut as a crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series, has rapidly integrated with the team. Wallace had no doubts about Denike’s ability to adapt to the demands of the Cup Series, given the supportive environment at 23XI Racing and the team’s state-of-the-art facility, Airspeed. Wallace noted, “I think the biggest adjustment was for Charles to figure out where he can fit in and start to grow. The good thing about that is the culture and the workplace that we provide at Airspeed are beneficial for people to learn fast, and efficiently. That shows with the results of our winning the Duel at Daytona, which was big for us [and] running top-five at The Clash, so, we started off the year with a bang and really haven’t let up since then, but the luck hasn’t gone our way. But I think for me, [the biggest thing] is putting the trust in the team, allowing them to make the decisions that they think are best to elevate our program to new levels.”
The early portion of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season has indeed seen a new level for the program. Wallace is sitting eighth in the championship standings after seven races. With an average ranking of 19.75 after the opening seven races in his previous four seasons at 23XI Racing, the current season’s performance marks a significant improvement. Wallace acknowledged, “Yeah, I think so. At this point, in the last couple of seasons, we were already back to 18th or 20th in points. And so, while there were moments in the previous years where I felt like we gave up some extra points here and there, I don’t think we’ve done that, or if we have it’s been more so the mistakes that I’ve made. It’s been nice to just run good and get as many points as you can because you never know what can happen.”
Despite the improvements, Wallace remains focused on maintaining consistency, believing that his Playoff hopes could be bolstered by the team’s current form rather than just accruing points. He stated confidently, “You keep putting our name in the hat, eventually, it’ll be pulled out. I believe in that wholeheartedly.”
Moreover, Wallace, who recently embraced fatherhood, appears calmer and more composed than ever in his NASCAR career. This comes in the wake of past performances being openly criticized by Denny Hamlin, 23XI Racing co-owner. As Tyler Reddick secured a Championship 4 berth last season in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota, Wallace failed to make the Playoffs, prompting Hamlin to voice his disappointment over the No. 23 team’s inconsistency in battling for wins and championships.
Feeling the weight of those comments, 2025 appeared to be a pivotal year for Wallace, possibly a make-or-break season. However, he has approached the challenge with a renewed focus and determination. “Honestly, I’ve treated every season like a make-or-break. So, you just show up and give it your all each and every race all year long, and where you stack up. But that’s how it goes, that’s what you have to accept. I appreciate all of the comments, criticism, and feedback to keep us going. But yeah, it’s a long journey and you have to find the good in every little avenue that you come across,” Wallace reflected.
His efforts have not gone unnoticed by Hamlin, who praised Wallace and his team on the “Actions Detrimental” podcast following his own win at the Cook Out 400. Hamlin remarked, “The 23 team deserves a shout-out as well. Bubba’s performance throughout the day, they continue to just get better and better like we’ve been saying for the last few years. Between Charles [Denike] leading that team and Bubba, they’ve just really stepped up this year and are running great.”
As Wallace prepares to maintain momentum at Darlington Raceway this weekend, he is hopeful for continued success. He has shown marked improvement at the 1.366-mile speedway in recent years, securing top-10 finishes in four of his last five starts there, including a career-best fifth place finish in the 2023 Goodyear 400. After achieving two consecutive podium finishes leading into this event, Wallace sets his sights on capturing his third career NASCAR Cup Series win.
The NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway is scheduled for Sunday, April 6. The event will be broadcast on FS1 and streamable on the FOX Sports App with a valid television provider login. TV coverage will begin at 3:00 PM ET. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of the race.
This article first appeared on Racing America on SI and was syndicated with permission.
