Bubba Wallace is already 'starting to miss' NASCAR after a week
Just one week after the season has ended, Bubba Wallace is ready to suit up and do it all over again in the NASCAR Cup Series. Wallace had a career season in 2023. He finished 10th overall, by far his best finish in the points after making a run to the Round of 12 in the playoffs.
While Bubba Wallace was a little dejected after the year, he seems to be better now. Athletes can go through a lot of emotions at the end of a season. It’s clear that Wallace hasn’t lost that spark, and in fact, may have grown his enthusiasm for the sport.
It appears that Bubba was looking back at some old highlights. Who could forget his insane restart at Pocono earlier this year? A driver who’s always been skilled on restarts, Wallace only honed that skill more as he refined his overall driving ability.
“Damn, starting to miss it already,” Wallace tweeted.
While Bubba Wallace didn’t win a race this year, he was able to bring it around at the end of the season. He made the playoffs and then battled his way through to the Round of 12. If not for a rough run at Kansas, Wallace might have made it to the Round of 8.
Comparing the first half of the season to the second half, it is obvious that there was an improvement from Wallace in 2023. I’m sure he’s looking forward to taking that to another level in 2024.
Bubba Wallace’s wild qualifying run in the playoffs
The one thing that stands out to me about Bubba Wallace in the second half of the season, qualifying. It didn’t always end up in an amazing finish. However, Wallace has started to understand how to get the most out of his car on a qualifying lap.
In the first 18 races of the year, Wallace averaged a start of P15. From Atlanta-2 to the end of the season, he really took off. He averaged a start of just under P10. In 13 of the final 18 races of the season, Wallace made the final round of qualifying. Darlington was the only race in the playoffs where he failed to make the top-10 in qualifying.
That all culminated in a pole award at Texas. He arguably should have won that race, but William Byron got the best of him on a late restart.
Bubba Wallace had five top-5 finishes, ten top-10 finishes and he should have a ton of confidence moving forward. 23XI Racing is going to be in good hands moving forward. If Wallace can start his season well in 2024, I think he will make it back to the NASCAR Playoffs.