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Bubba Wallace reacts to winning Southern 500 pole at Darlington

JHby:Jonathan Howard•08/31/24•

Jondean25

Bubba Wallace pole Southern 500
Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

An exciting afternoon of qualifying for Bubba Wallace. He put his No. 23 Air Force Toyota Camry on the pole for the Southern 500. Sitting on the pole for a NASCAR crown jewel is a big deal.

Bubba Wallace was fearless on the track. In the first round of qualifying, he hit the wall twice and still put up the quickest time in his group. Then he backed it up in the second round.

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Wallace took time to celebrate, but he’s not done. He knows that his only guarantee of making the NASCAR Playoffs is by winning the Southern 500.

Bubba Wallace should be proud of his pole award. But he is going to have to back it up for 500 miles on the Track Too Tough to Tame. There are not many moments when a driver has control over their own destiny, starting P1 tomorrow night will be about as close as it gets.

23XI Racing has a lot on the line this weekend. Bubba making the playoffs, Tyler Reddick winning the regular season championship, and now they have a good shot at winning the race. Both Wallace and Reddick qualified in the top-10 for the Southern 500.

Ever since Nashville, Wallace and his team have made a huge push. Five top-10 finishes in seven races, and he could have made it seven for seven if not for moments at Chicago and Michigan that cost him.

Bubba Wallace wins pole at Darlington

Bubba Wallace has three career pole awards. He has won a pole in each of the last three seasons. He won it at Michigan in 2022, Texas last season, and now Darlington. These intermediate tracks are his bread and butter.

Carson Hocevar, the Spire Motorsports rookie, is on the outside pole. Hocevar has earned Spire their best-ever starting position. It was previously Corey LaJoie, P5 at COTA this season. The No. 77 team is coming together.

It was a very interesting top-10 in qualifying. Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Chris Buescher make up the rows two through five.

Darlington, The Lady in Black, Track Too Tough to Tame – whatever you call it – this is a challenging place. Bubba Wallace has four straight top-10 finishes at Darlington. Is Sunday the day that he finally wins?