Bubba Wallace hits the wall in final qualifying round at Pocono Raceway

He came into the final round the second fastest car of the day and Bubba Wallace just couldn’t hold onto it in Turn 1. It wasn’t just an issue that Wallace had, his teammate Tyler Reddick and team owner Denny Hamlin also had issues in Turn 1 during NASCAR qualifying.

Unless his team has to make some big fixes on his car, Bubba Wallace will be able to start P10. This Tricky Triangle had a few victims in qualifying. Both Todd Gilliland and Chase Elliott failed to post any times in the session after spinning in Group A and B qualifying, respectively.

Bubba Wallace will be wondering what could have been in terms of a pole award at Pocono. His game plan is still to go out and win. If he can’t do that, he’ll hope to put up major points on the rest of the bubble drivers.

He just ran out of room!

Contact for the No. 23 in the final round! #BuschLightPole pic.twitter.com/ozsXmXfxj4

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 22, 2023

While this is disappointing, Bubba Wallace has shown he can qualify really well at Pocono. This is the third year in a row that Wallace has qualified in the top 10 for this race. In the last two seasons, Wallace has finishes of P8 and P5. He will try to improve upon that and race his way into the playoffs.

Bubba’s good friend Chase Elliott also had a tough time. Elliott spun out in his qualifying session in Group B. He wasn’t able to get a lap made and will likely start in the very back. That triangle track sure is tricky…

Bubba Wallace will battle at Pocono

According to the 23XI Racing team, there won’t be a need for repairs on Wallace’s car. That is great news as it saves his top-10 starting position and gives him a chance to compete for a lot of points on the day. Just two points above the cutline, it will be important to get as many as he can.

Of course, the goal with a top-10 position is to go out and win the whole thing. That is going to be easier said than done. William Byron is on the pole, and Martin Truex Jr. is starting on the front row. Those two have a combined seven wins this season. I’m afraid we might see another runaway win from one of them.

If Truex Jr. gets a hold of the lead, he’s not likely to let it go. So, it will be interesting to see how good of a start the veteran driver gets.

Bubba Wallace should be starting P10 on Sunday. He will give it his all as he tries to take a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs.