Dale Jarrett says Bubba Wallace didn't 'choke' when he lost lead at Texas
Those final restarts at Texas were exciting for fans. Bubba Wallace felt that he “choked” when he lost the lead, but Dale Jarrett says otherwise. In NASCAR, only one person gets to win. Plain and simple, everyone else goes home a loser. When you race up front on a more consistent basis, those win-or-lose moments become more common.
Of course, Bubba Wallace is often hyper-critical of himself. He was able to outlast Kyle Larson, but that final restart ended up costing him. Did he “choke” or was it just racing? With hindsight, Wallace probably chooses the inside on Chase Briscoe, but the outside worked on three previous restarts.
Dale Jarrett knows a thing or two about winning races. The 1999 NASCAR Cup Series champion has won, and lost, in the biggest moments in the sport. He doesn’t believe Bubba choked at all.
“I think they both [Wallace, William Byron] hesitated just for a split second there, but as Bubba hesitated, Byron saw that hesitation. I don’t think Bubba choked in this, that’s a tough, tough spot to get yourself in. Bubba didn’t do anything wrong to get in that spot, and what he did, turned out to be a wrong thing, but it wasn’t the wrong thinking that he was doing. I think if he had gone on and committed completely to taking his car to the very bottom of the race track, that probably Byron is going to back out and not create a contact there.”
Jarrett went on to say, “He just opened the door. I don’t blame him for that. That’s not choking, that’s learning. He’s still having to learn how to race in a different set of circumstances.”
A tough situation for Bubba Wallace, ultimately.
Bubba Wallace gets next chance at Talladega
Heading into Talladega, Bubba is finally entering this race as a NASCAR Playoff driver. He made his way from 16th in the playoffs to making the Round of 12. Now, he’s just two points below the cutline to make the Round of 8. Kyle Larson is two points ahead of Wallace in that final spot.
Just to break down Larson and Wallace, the advantage for this race goes to the 23. Bubba Wallace led laps earlier this season at Dega. He has that rain-shortened win from 2021 in this 400-mile race. Meanwhile, Larson struggles at superspeedways.
In 2022, Larson was able to finish P4 at Talladega for the April race. That is his only top-5 finish EVER at the track. More times than not, he ends up as a DNF or struggling to find his way to the front of the field.
Bubba Wallace has exceeded expectations this year so far. What is to stop him from doing it again? If he doesn’t have a big points day or snag a win this weekend at Talladega, the Charlotte Roval is going to be his biggest challenge yet.