Bubba Wallace reacts to disappointing Michigan wreck, playoff outlook taking hit

Bubba Wallace has some work to do after finishing 26th at the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Monday afternoon. While speaking to Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports, Wallace reacted to being involved in a wreck caused by Kyle Larson which prevented him from a win or top-five finish.

“Guys did a good job, that’s all I could ask for,” Wallace said. “Show up with speed, be competitive, put your name in the hat, that’s what we did so thank you.”

Wallace also shared his reaction to his playoff chances taking a hit after Monday’s race. “Two more left. Didn’t matter if we ran second today, still got to more left,” he said.

If the playoffs were to start today, Wallace would be out of the playoffs as he’s in 17th place. However, the 30-year-old is only one point behind Ross Chastain for 16th place, so strong finishes at Daytona and Darlington could mean big things for Wallace and his team.

Before Monday’s race, Wallace had a lot of momentum. He finished in the top 10 in four of the last five races and finished in the top five in the last two races. Wallace is still looking for his first victory of the year and his first since the 2022 season when he won the fall Talladega race.

Tyler Reddick talks competing with Bubba Wallace

Wallace might be upset with how his day went, but it was not a bad day for his team. Wallace’s 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick won the FireKeepers Casino 400 and looks poised to win the Cup Series title. During his post-race press conference, Reddick talked about working with Wallace to make each other better.

“Me and Bubba are really fast in practice. Doesn’t always work out in the race, right? The capability of our cars are really, really high. They allow us to run inside the top five, have speed to get out front, be able to hold onto the lead as well,” Reddick said.

“A number of things play into it. I also just wanted to sink my feet into ground that I know I’d be there for a while, a number of years, and build a program, build our way to the top. Felt really good about that with 23XI.

“Yeah, everything happens for a reason, and it was great for us and our group on the 45 to be able to start that process a year early and begin to learn each other and learn what we need to work on and improve. It’s really helped for year two.”