Bubba Wallace fumes after falling short at Daytona: 'It's unacceptable'

If Bubba Wallace wasn’t going to win Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the best-case scenario would’ve been a driver already locked into the playoff field finding his way to Victory Lane.

Best-case scenario quickly turned into worst-case scenario on the final lap as Harrison Burton outlasted Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell to win his first race of the season. Burton entered Saturday’s race 34th in the points standings but is now playoff bound.

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Wallace, meanwhile, is now 21 points below the playoff cutline going into next Sunday at Darlington, the final race of the regular season. Wallace did finish sixth at Daytona, but that wasn’t on his mind after the race. Speaking with NBC Sports, a frustrated Wallace called his performance this season “unacceptable” when compared to 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick. Reddick is notably racing for the regular season points championship.

“Got one car fighting for a regular season championship and another on the bubble. It’s unacceptable,” Wallace said. “I’ll take all that weight on my shoulders. I should’ve won multiple times, and I haven’t. We don’t even deserve to be here, and we aren’t. Gotta go win, that’s it.”

Bubba Wallace in must-win situation at Darlington

Wallace had a fast car at Daytona, perhaps one capable of taking the checkered flag. He led 16 laps but was a victim of wrong place at the wrong time. Wallace was involved in the “big one” on Lap 151, which also wiped out Reddick, Joey Logano and Michael McDowell among others.

Wallace is essentially in a must-win situation at Darlington, a track that’s been kind to him of late. He has tallied four consecutive top 10s at “The Lady in Black,” including a P7 result back in May.