Bubba Wallace defines success for NASCAR playoffs, 'not settled' on Brickyard 400 win

Bubba Wallace‘s first taste of NASCAR Cup Series playoff action in 2023 saw him eliminated in the Round of 12. He returns to the postseason two years later feeling he has a real shot of making a deep run.

Wallace earned a playoff spot after his Brickyard 400 win last month. While that was a great accomplishment for Wallace and the No. 23 team, they have even higher aspirations.

.@BubbaWallace says after winning @IMS "We're not settled on that win, we're set up for the ultimate goal of winning a championship"#NASCAR #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/QWulcPEao3

— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) August 27, 2025

“We’re not settled on the Indy win,” Peter Stratta of TSJSports. “It was a great opportunity to capitalize on to set ourselves up for the ultimate goal — which is what we had in store at the beginning of the year — which is to be a champion. Immediately after Indy, I looked at the playoffs and honestly, got really excited about each and every race that’s coming up. I don’t look at any round as ‘Oh, man, this might be a struggle for us.’

“I also look at the playoff field the last couple of weeks — man, no one’s really running away from it. If I want to echo Denny [Hamlin], you can’t run away from it when you reset the points every time. No one’s had like a breakout. You have a guy who can get on a hot streak for a couple races, and then it’s somebody else. So, I think we’re all in for a treat — drivers and spectators of just how these playoffs are going to go.”

Bubba Wallace is having his best season to date in NASCAR Cup Series

The last two seasons, there was no debate as to who the best driver was at 23XI. It was Tyler Reddick but this season, that’s been flipped. It’s Reddick who is winless and had to race his way into the playoffs on points. Wallace, meanwhile, has more top 10s and has led more laps than his teammate. No, this isn’t a Wallace vs. Reddick thing, but it shows the jump that Wallace and the No. 23 team have made this season.

Wallace enters the postseason as the No. 9 seed in the playoffs. In a season where there’s been no dominant driver, why can’t Wallace end the season as a Cup champion?

“I don’t feel like 2023 Bubba where like, ‘Oh, man, it’s cool to be talking to you guys for playoff day.’ I feel like I belong here and want to continue this trend and have the upmost confidence in our team and our ability and our potential to carry this into making a deep run in the playoffs,” Wallace said. “It all started back in February, but everything just ramps up another notch for the next 10 weeks.”