Mar 22, 2026; Darlington, South Carolina, USA; 23XI Racing Bubba Wallace (23) comes out for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images
Mar 22, 2026; Darlington, South Carolina, USA; 23XI Racing Bubba Wallace (23) comes out for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images
Bubba Wallace is having a volatile 2026 season so far and has been struggling for consistency. As the regular season narrows down to eight races, every point counts towards the Chase playoff bubble.
While there have been flashes of pace, the No. 23 23 XI Racing team seems to struggle overall. After another disappointment at Sonoma last weekend, NASCAR analyst Jordan Bianchi gave Wallace a word of caution.
While talking about Wallace’s last few weekends on "The Teardown" podcast, Bianchi said:
"Like this team, man, it's a roller coaster. Like every week, every week is a freaking adventure with these guys. It seemed like he was on a really good qualifying lap, was pushing it. You could maybe make the case he was pushing it too hard, ends up wrecking the car, you know, start to the back."
"And then in the race he gets involved in a couple incidents, and it's just like this is not what they need," he added.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 11: Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing Xfinity Toyota is being interviewed during Media Day for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Daytona 500 on February 11, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 11 NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 Media Day EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602110150500
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 11: Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing Xfinity Toyota is being interviewed during Media Day for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Daytona 500 on February 11, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 11 NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 Media Day EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602110150500
On Sunday in Sonoma, he was involved in a crash in qualifying. At the Save Mart 350, he was involved in multiple incidents, including one with Riley Herbst and Todd Gilliland.
Jordan Bianchi emphasized that the No. 23 team needs to execute "clean races" and just have a "decent day on a track that maybe isn't your best."
After 18 races, Bubba Wallace sits in 13th place in the standings. He sits 55 points above the cutoff line for the Chase (Top 16), but he needs to tighten up his racing gloves as drivers like Shane van Gisbergen have slowly started to catch up.
Bubba Wallace's results go from hero to zero in one week
At the race in San Diego on June 21, Bubba Wallace scored a second-place finish. It was his highest finish since the 2025 Brickyard victory.
Unfortunately, it was overshadowed to an extent by the disqualification of two of his pit crew members post-race due to a loose wheel incident in the race.
Coming into the Sonoma race weekend, the 23XI crew hoped for a similar race result, or if not, at least a Top 10. But these dreams were soon crushed in qualifying.
Wallace's efforts came undone as he went onto the dirt and slammed into the pit road wall, causing a significant amount of damage to the car. Instead of running in the backup car, his pit crew chose to fix the car.
This resulted in him picking up a penalty, and he was dropped to the rear of the field. In the lap he put in earlier, he would have started in 26th place. He was one of the three drivers hit with the penalty.
In the race, he could only manage to get up to 22nd and dropped two places in the standings.
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Written by
Chionia Libania Colaco
Edited by
Yash Kotak