Bubba Wallace believes everyone is in 'must-win' situation at Daytona

Even with his points lead, Bubba Wallace doesn’t want to leave anything to chance at Daytona, meaning he’s going for a win. If you thought that Wallace might sit back and wait for the other NASCAR drivers to figure it out, think again. He won’t let the Ty Gibbs and Chase Elliotts of the field get too far away from him.

Bubba Wallace is in the 16th and final playoff spot, for now. He has a 32-point lead on Ty Gibbs, and from there, his lead grows on the other competitors. However, Daytona is the great equalizer. There are 17 drivers that don’t have a win that could all make their way into the playoffs with a win.

Then again, it is Daytona. All of this is easier said than done. Heading into the race, Wallace has a good outlook on things.

“Everybody’s in a must-win situation,” Wallace said, via Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service.

“When the last race is Daytona and we’ve seen surprise winners, no one is safe until the race is over with. We’re hoping we can do everything right, continue to get stage points and if there is a new winner, it’s the 23-car. Everybody’s fighting for the same real estate.

“If we could lock ourselves in and do a good job it would be a massive pat on the back to everybody involved in this program and 23XI showing their commitment to the sport and our commitment we have to deliver back to the team for all the opportunities given to us,” he added. “You never want to take any of this for granted.”

So, what are Bubba Wallace’s chances of winning?

Bubba Wallace odds for Daytona

The second time around at Daytona and there are just as many mixed feelings and different agendas as there were back in February. Everyone has their eyes on the battle between Wallace and Chase Elliott. Still, we don’t know who will emerge in this race from below the cutline.

Heading into the Saturday night affair, Elliott is actually the favorite according to Las Vegas. At 11-1 odds, bookmakers expect Elliott to get the job done this weekend. You couldn’t ask me to name a favorite for this race, with so much going on and never knowing when the big one is going to happen, it is nearly impossible.

Further down the list, we have Bubba Wallace at 20-1 odds. That isn’t awful in the grand scheme of things and puts him among the top-10 in the field.

Bubba Wallace is in a position that he’s never been in before. Now he has to defend his spot in the standings and hope that no new winners emerge from the Coke Zero Sugar 400.