Bubba Wallace celebrates Tennessee win after P3 finish at Bristol: ‘The real UT’
Tonight Bubba Wallace had a career-best finish at Bristol and when he got out of the car, his Tennessee Volunteers were whipping up on Oklahoma. By the time the NASCAR Bristol Night Race ended, the Vols were up 22-3.
While the final box score is going to look a little closer than this game truly was, Tennessee whooped Oklahoma tonight. It was a big “Welcome to the SEC” moment for the Sooners. Jackson Arnold threw a pick. There were fumbles. It was a mess for Oklahoma.
For Bubba Wallace, there is no better feeling than recording his first top-5 finish ever at Bristol and then seeing the Vols up double digits on a top-15 opponent. That is the cherry on top.
Before the race even started Bubba Wallace had the Volunteer game on his mind. He was booed, as is usual at races, by the majority of fans during driver intros. But at Bristol, drivers get to talk back. So, Wallace tried to earn some sympathy cheers and said, “Go Big Orange. “
It didn’t really work. BUT his team is still going to pull off a win against a big time opponent in conference play. Wallace gets to celebrate his P3 finish, which bodes well for the future. It also shows his improvement in the Next Gen car on short tracks.
In the three Next Gen races at Bristol before this, Wallace had an average finish of P24. Only a single top-10 at the track ever and that was in 2020 with Richard Petty Motorsports.
Big day for Bubba Wallace, big day for Tennessee football.
Bubba Wallace shows out after contract extension
Coming off the news of his new contract extension, Bubba Wallace picked a fine time to have a great race. This was an impressive showing. Stage points in both stages, he was one of the few non-playoff drivers to consistently run in the top-10.
Overall, just a great day from Wallace. He beat his boss Denny Hamlin and his teammate, the regular season champion, Tyler Reddick. I mean, he beat everyone but Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott.
The racing wasn’t particularly exciting. Especially since Kyle Larson led for 462 of 500 laps, the most of any Hendrick driver in a single race, ever. A truly dominating performance, but not one that made for a very enthralling stock car race.
Bubba Wallace is not in the playoffs. But that does not mean he can’t win a race soon. This could be a massive confidence booster heading to Kansas, a track Wallace has a win at from 2022.