Bubba Wallace’s Pre-Race Confidence Backfires at Darlington as Playoff Hopes Fade
Bubba Wallace’s optimism heading into the Southern 500 at Darlington quickly turned sour, as the 23XI Racing driver failed to secure a spot in NASCAR’s Cup Series playoffs despite starting from pole position.
After securing his first pole of the 2024 season, Wallace confidently declared, “We’re not here to mess around.” Unfortunately, he ended up finishing 16th in the final regular season race, dashing his playoff hopes.
Chase Briscoe, a first-time winner this season, took the coveted playoff spot instead, joining Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs. Despite Wallace’s strong performance earlier in the race, he couldn’t hold onto a playoff position. Even so, 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan expressed pride in Wallace’s efforts.
“That’s what NASCAR’s all about,” Jordan said. “I don’t have basketball anymore, but this can easily replace it. It’s exciting. Everyone wants something, but nothing comes for free. If you want more, you have to work harder. Bubba understands that.”
Wallace reflected on his performance, saying, “We weren’t good enough, simple as that. For the last two-thirds of the race, I kept hoping the 11 (Denny Hamlin) and 5 (Kyle Larson) would stay ahead because the 14 (Briscoe) was fast.
And guess who won? The goalpost moved again. Briscoe deserved it. Congrats to him. Now we’ve got to move on, put this weekend behind us, and give it our all for the next 10 races.”
Meanwhile, Briscoe narrowly beat NASCAR veteran Kyle Busch, who needed a win to make the playoffs. Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion, finished second for the second straight weekend, just missing out on a playoff berth.
“When I got past a few guys early on, I thought we had a chance,” said Busch. “I just needed him to have three or four more laps on older tires for me to catch up. Once I got close, I couldn’t push through the air to make a move. Still, it’s been a huge improvement for our team over the last few weeks.”
Reflecting on missed opportunities, Busch added: “I’ve wanted wins in Atlanta, Vegas, the Daytona 500—we’ve been up front all day in several races. The chances keep slipping away, and I’m just counting them on two hands now.”
