As NASCAR's Chase slowly inches closer, drivers have slowly started to feel the pressure, and Bubba Wallace is no different. As inconsistent performances have begun to take a toll on Wallace, NASCAR veteran Kevin Harvick gave a blunt verdict. 

During the race at Nashville, the 23XI driver had racked up some stage points. However, a collision with Alex Bowman on lap 193 ended his day in disappointment.

Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Harvick pointed out the stark difference in the performance between 23XI's Tyler Reddick, who is currently leading the championship, and his teammate Bubba Wallace, while also telling him to buckle up as the chase cut-off begins to tighten. On his "Happy Hour" podcast, Harvick said:

"I guess there's really no nice way to explain it. They're underachieving compared to Tyler Reddick, and you know that's your measuring stick, and that's your team, and that's the things that you have access to, and you got to figure out why you can't achieve those same goals. You know, there's nobody going to feel sorry for you at this point."

While Harvick acknowledged the bad luck Wallace has had with unfortunate wrecks this season, he emphasized that it is what it is.

"I know that he's had some bad luck to go with it, but you got to buckle down, and you got to figure out how to get your head in the game, get your team, and everybody remotivated because you're running out of time and you're also running out of spots that are going to keep you into the Chase," Harvick added further. 

For Bubba Wallace, his Nashville disappointment was evident in his statements post-race. He said:

"It's hard to be in the same boat constantly every week, and you gotta figure out how to put it behind you and show up."

This season, Wallace has been involved in multiple crashes, including a big one with Carson Hocevar at Martinsville. There have also been a couple where he got collected in wrecks, like the big one at Talladega.

In four of the last five races, the 23XI driver has finished outside the top 20. Bubba Wallace sits 15th in the standings after 14 races, with a 34-point cushion to the Chase cutoff (Top 16), which seems to be quickly vanishing as the season progresses. 

However, it is not just Bubba Wallace's performance that Kevin Harvick has scrutinized. 

Kevin Harvick Weighs in on Tyler Reddick’s Dominance

With five wins in the first few races of the season and leading the drivers' championship, Tyler Reddick has definitely attracted some attention. However, Harvick is not convinced that the performances themselves can be described as dominant.

In the aforementioned podcast, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion questioned when the last time Reddick dominated a race was. 

"There hasn’t been that pure dominance of speed," said Harvick. "It has been a great execution from keeping the car going and keeping yourself in position with great restarts and getting it done behind the wheel. It hasn’t been pure dominance."

The best example of what Harvick said lies in the race at Kansas, which was thrown into overtime. Reddick aced the restart to overtake Kyle Larson in the last two corners and take his fifth win of the season. 

After 14 races, Reddick keeps the lead in the championship, with a 97-point cushion to Denny Hamlin, who won in Nashville, in second.

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yash Kotak