Bubba Wallace reacts to pole position, playoff chances at Darlington: 'Anything can happen'

Bubba Wallace enters Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington 21 points below the playoff cutline, facing what could be a must-win scenario.

While Darlington is hardly the place you want to go needing a win, Wallace has run well lately at the 1.33-mile oval and has shown he has a fast car this weekend. Wallace won the pole Saturday and now has the advantage of having the first pit stall.

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Wallace spoke with the media after Saturday’s qualifying session and while Darlington will be tall task even on the pole, he knows “anything can happen,” as evident by Harrison Burton’s upset victory at Daytona last Saturday.

Bubba Wallace will lead the field from the pole today at Darlington while on the outside looking in of the playoff bubble as he sits 21 points behind Chris Buescher. Does being on the pole make points potentially come into play (Buescher starts 10th)? Wallace's thoughts: pic.twitter.com/ITI832yZtL

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 1, 2024

“Anything can happen,” Wallace told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “We’ve seen — look at last week, right. Anything can happen, so we have to run our own race. It makes it a lot easier for us having that first pit stall. As long as we execute and make the right calls, do good on pit road — all I want is every single person apart of this team, including myself is to go to bed tomorrow night saying, ‘We did whatever we could. We did all we could and maybe it was good enough, maybe it wasn’t.’ That’s the lottery ticket we’ll find out tomorrow after the race.”

Burton’s win at Daytona was the last thing Wallace and other bubble drivers needed to see, though there is reason to be optimistic if you’re Wallace. He has tallied four consecutive top 10s at “The Lady in Black,” including a P7 result back in May.

Bubba Wallace ‘excited’ about opportunity ahead at Darlington

Coming to the track with fast racecars hasn’t been the problem; staying out of trouble has been. It’s a pressure packed moment for Wallace, so who better to give him some words of encouragement than Michael Jordan, the six-time NBA champion. Wallace revealed on “The Dale Jr. Download” earlier this week that he received a text from the 23XI Racing co-owner, which uplifted his spirits coming out of Daytona.

“I had [Jordan] text me and he said, ‘Things you want more cost more,’” Wallace said. “All day yesterday and all day, in the middle of the night, I’m telling myself you’ve just got to go out there and have the best race you’ve ever had of your life. It’s just showing up, me doing all that I can. Take out the outside factors, pit stops, or we call the wrong race. You go out and drive your best race you’ve ever had and knowing that you have the people, knowing you have the equipment and everything else will make its own way. That’s how I’m approaching it. I woke up in a much better mood this morning and I think that helps.

“Last year I went into Daytona really stressed out. I think for Daytona you can get by with that, but I think if it was Darlington I would have crashed Lap 2. Taking a deep breath, understanding where we’re at. We’re not out of it by any means. If you outrun the guys you’re racing, then you should beat them. But we have to do a little bit of extra work and I’m excited to roll the sleeves up and do that.”