Kansas Throwback: Bubba Wallace wins over boss Denny Hamlin

A year ago, Bubba Wallace was not in the playoffs, but that didn’t stop him from stealing a win at Kansas and playing spoiler. For his second career win in the Cup Series, Wallace wasn’t even in his usual No. 23 car. Instead, he had a (cosmetic) change to the No. 45 since Kurt Busch put the car into the NASCAR owners championship with a regular season win at Kansas.

So, a different number, a strange playoff situation – none of that mattered. Bubba Wallace and his boss Denny Hamlin were clearly the class of the field a year ago. Wallace just had a little more speed in his car that day.

Usually an emotional driver, Wallace was filled with elation after the win. He fist-pumped, yelled, and gave a silencing “hush” to his detractors. It was a defiant moment. One that ended with him burning down the tires in an epic burnout.

Then, he followed it by saying he was, “Thankful to shut the hell up [sic], for a lot of people.”

Since the Next Gen era began, Toyota has won all three Kansas races. Kurt Busch won the spring of 2022, Bubba Wallace in the playoffs in 2022, and Denny Hamlin this past spring. Does that mean we should expect Tyler Reddick to pull into victory lane this weekend?

With this race lined up as the second on the Round of 16 schedule, it sets Wallace up very nicely to potentially win or earn a bunch of points. He’s one point behind Christopher Bell for that coveted 12th position.

Bubba Wallace odds to win at Kansas

Heading into the Hollywood Casino 40, Bubba Wallace is not the favorite. That honor goes to Denny Hamlin, the winner in the spring. To his credit, Hamlin has finished P5, P4, P2, and P1 in the last four events at Kansas Speedway. With four career wins, he might deserve to be the 9-2 favorite that he is.

However, it isn’t that far down the list of favorites until you find Bubba Wallace. At 12-1 odds, this might be his best chance to win a race this season. He showed speed at Darlington twice this year, Kansas, Charlotte, and even New Hampshire.

If Wallace is going to repeat at Kansas this weekend, he has to be consistent. You can have all the speed in the world, but if you don’t execute on the small things, it doesn’t matter. Pit road issues cannot happen and if they do, they can’t happen twice.

I’m not sure Bubba Wallace is going to get the job done this weekend, at least not with a win. However, I expect him to be a top-5 car and I expect him to get stage points, too. If he doesn’t, then he will likely have wasted his best chance at a win and/or a 40+ day in points.