- Wallace has been part of several wrecks, but that’s not what frustrates him.
- Bubba calls the lane-choice moment a buzzkill for him.
- The 23XI Racing driver wishes he’d joined Joe Gibbs Racing.
Bubba Wallace’s season got off to a reliable start, but the run since has turned into a mixed load. And the latest example of that was the Talladega race last weekend. He led three laps in the race during the final stage, only for events to take a turn when a multi-car crash broke out. Wallace was bumped by Ross Chastain at the front of the field and spun on the backstretch, drawing in a string of drivers.
He had his sights set on the win, but the big one shut the door. In most cases, wrecks of that scale would top the list of gripes a driver might air over a race weekend, and doing so could pass as nitpicking given that wrecks come with the territory. In Wallace’s case, the issue lies elsewhere.
Wallace names the thing that ruins the vibe for him
During a recent interview with Jeff Gluck for the “12 Questions” segment, when asked to name the pettiest thing that gets under his skin during a race weekend, Bubba Wallace pointed to the “choose” moment, the brief window before a restart when drivers pick a lane.
He said, “What’s annoying is the mad dash at short tracks when it’s choose time (on the lap before the race resumes, drivers pick a lane to choose where to restart the race). At Martinsville, we’re rushing to get all the cars through. Why not do two laps to go? Bristol, same thing. Why are we rushing?”
“And then the choose cone being so close to the start/finish line at road courses — COTA, Sonoma — there are different straightaways we could use. We wait until the last little bit, and that’s it.”
Wallace sees a system that builds pressure where none is needed. While drivers battle each other, they must also react to procedures that feel rushed for no apparent reason. With cars already pushed to the limit, even a small dose of disorder can feel like a hurdle placed in their path for no clear reason.
Bubba Wallace wishes he could undo this one thing in his life.
Bubba Wallace has seen his share of moments he might look back on with a second thought. He made it clear that opening up to people or explaining himself now feels like a chore, even though it once came with ease.
Many remember when Wallace spoke about his struggle with anxiety and how a poor weekend would spill into the days that followed. Now, he keeps those thoughts close to his chest and steers clear of laying them bare. Yet he does not view that shift as something he would undo, as it has taught him along the way.
When asked what decision he would change if he could go back to his early days before reaching NASCAR, Wallace said, “The first thing that came to mind was not going to Roush (for the O’Reilly Series). So it was either seven (O’Reilly) races with JGR or full-time at Roush. And we went with Roush.”
“But if I didn’t go to Roush, then I wouldn’t fill in for (Aric) Almirola when he broke his back (in 2017) because of the Ford connection, and that sparked my Cup career.”
He may look back and wonder about the path with Joe Gibbs Racing over a seven-race stint, but at the time, RFK offered a route that pointed toward the long run. But it seems his view of that call sits on the fence. To call it a regret would be a stretch.
