Bubba Wallace reacts to third-place finish at Martinsville

Bubba Wallace earned a P3 finish at the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway and is happy with his overall performance. After the race, Wallace spoke to FOX Sports about what he did well and the mistakes he made.

“A good day nonetheless. I’m trying to scratch my head on what I could have done different,” Wallace said. “My restarts were terrible. One of my best traits, so need to go back and study that. What a great day. Continuing to rebound from the start of our season. Super proud of our group here at the 23 team. McDonald’s Toyota Camry was fast all weekend.

“That final restart, I let that second get away. I don’t know if I had anything for Denny. It would have been fun to try. But all in all, hell of a day for Toyota. Top three. That’s nice. Keep the momentum going, having fun.”

This was Wallace’s second consecutive top-five finish, as he placed third at Homestead last week. Through seven races this year, Wallace has earned three top-10 finishes. At this point in 2024, Wallace had just two. Wallace is still looking for his victory since the 2023 season, which is the last time he made the playoffs.

Before the season, Wallace said he was ready to turn things around in 2025. “Excited for this season to get underway,” Wallace said in January. “Took it upon myself to be better and do better. Got my ass kicked the last 2 seasons, plain and simple.”

Bubba Wallace later added, “To my people struggling to get started on a new journey. It’s tough as shit, no doubt. But I look at it as there is 24 hours in a day. What’s 30 minutes to walk, run, or ride the peloton? 30 minutes. The self gratitude after is so worth it. I’ll start by saying I believe in you! 2025 is gonna be a grind. Time to roll up the sleeves, grab a glove and get in the game!”