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Bubba Wallace, Hayden Christensen team up to release new Star Wars paint scheme

JHby:Jonathan Howard•10/31/24•

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Bubba Wallace Phoenix Star Wars
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Back again for Phoenix, Bubba Wallace is teaming up with Columbia Sportswear and Star Wars, but he’s on the dark side this time. Wallace will have his No. 23 car looking extra special for the NASCAR season finale in two weeks’ time.

Last season, Bubba Wallace partnered up with Mark Hamill, AKA Luke Skywalker. This time, he is joining forces on the dark side with Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker in the prequels, later becoming Darth Vader.

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This is a really cool collaboration. When they did it last season, Tyler Reddick even got to participate despite not being sponsored by Columbia. We will have to wait and see if that happens again.

Bubba Wallace is not in the NASCAR Playoffs. However, he might have the best-looking car in the field when Phoenix rolls around.

While he has not had the most amazing season and missed the playoffs, there is momentum for the 23 team. He has more top-10s and top-5s than any other season in his career. He won the pole at Darlington.

Right now, Wallace is 12th overall in the points, if you take away the boost in points that playoff drivers receive. He might be able to sneak into the top-10 by the end of the season depending on how these last two races go.

He has more points than Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, and Michael McDowell who leads the series in pole awards this season. There is reason to believe next year could be better, too.

Bubba Wallace paired up with new crew chief for 2025

These final two weeks will also be the last two weeks that Bootie Barker will crew chief for Bubba Wallace. This is going to be a new change for Wallace and the 23 team. Barker has been a fan-favorite and guided Wallace to his first career win and second career win.

However, it has become clear that this team is missing something. At times, decision-making on the box has not been the best. So, 23XI Racing is bringing Charles Denike on board. Denike is currently the crew chief for Christian Eckes.

Eckes this season in the Truck Series is having a historically dominant season. He does not have the most wins, that goes to Corey Heim. But Eckes has three wins, two pole awards, and has only one finish worse than P10 this season. Not to mention their four-win 2023 season.

Between Gateway and Kansas, Eckes rallied off eight finishes of P4 or better. If Charles Denike can bring some of that success to the Cup Series, that’s good news for Bubba Wallace.

The Truck Series trucks are more similar to the Next Gen car than you would think. So, there might be something there for Wallace and Denike to work on for next year.