Dejected Bubba Wallace reacts to missing NASCAR playoffs after disappointing Darlington finish 

Bubba Wallace will not compete for a NASCAR Cup Series championship this year as he missed out on the playoffs in the final race in the regular season. After the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Wallace spoke to NBC Sports about what caused him and his team to not clinch a playoff spot.

“We got behind on adjustments. We were back and forth on our US Air Force Toyota Camry,” Wallace said. “A little too loose, a little too tight That caution with a couple laps on tires where we stayed out, I don’t know if that was the deciding factor. We just got so tight there and got back there in traffic, a spot we hadn’t been all day. I got caught up in someone else’s mess.

CLICK HERE to go to PrizePicks and use code ON3 to receive a guaranteed $50 once you play $5 in lineups!

“Unfortunate, I hate it for our guys, but hats off to the 14 [Chase Briscoe]. I thought I did something yesterday, they one-up’d us and showed up when it was game time. That’s pretty badass, so congrats to them. …Wasn’t good enough for 16th this year. Hate that, it stings saying that but wasn’t from lack of effort from all of us from this 23 car. Best of luck to the 45 [Tyler Reddick] and hopefully a Toyota wins.”

Bubba Wallace says he and his team ‘will be fine’

Wallace won the pole for the Southern 500 and finished in the top in the first two stages. But the 30-year-old struggled a little bit in the final stage and was involved in a multi-car wreck in the final laps, leading to him finishing 16th. This is a tough pill to swallow for Wallace who was racing very well over the last month. But he knows that he can still accomplish a lot with just 10 more races remaining.

“Tomorrow’s Labor Day, right? Gotta sit and dwell on it, hopefully no meetings,” Wallace said. “You got four or five days to reset and go on to… Where we go to next? I don’t know. Shows how mental this race was. We’ll be fine.”

The last time Wallace won a race was in 2022 when he earned a P1 at Kansas. A win this year and consistent top-10 finishes will give him and his team momentum for the 2025 season.