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NASCAR hits Bubba Wallace with rough penalty early at Nashville

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones06/01/25brianjones_93
Bubba Wallace
Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Bubba Wallace was hit with a penalty in Stage 1 of the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. NASCAR announced that Wallace was driving too fast on pit road. The penalty put Wallace a lap down, which makes it challenging for him to have a strong finish.

Bubba Wallace is currently in a bad stretch. After earning a P8 finish at Talladega, the 31-year-old finished 33rd, 33rd and 35th in his last three races. Entering the Nashville race, Wallace was 45 points above the playoff cut line, but he needs to find a way to get back on track to secure a spot in the playoffs.

Wallace knows he needs to win, but not just because that will get him one step closer to potentially winning a championship. During an interview on The Breakfast Club earlier this year, Wallace talked about helping NASCAR grow by winning more races.

Bubba Wallace needs to win for one big reason

“I need to win,” Wallace said. “There you go. I think that’s the easiest way to go about it. I need to win. Golf didn’t change too much, but Tiger [Woods] was dominant and created a lot of buzz. I’ve only had two wins in my eight years being in Cup. To me, that’s unacceptable. The way that we’ve been performing this year, last two races finishing third, two spots away from doing just that. I’ll take full responsibility in helping that.”

Despite the recent struggles, Wallace just received big support from a major company. In late May, 23XI Racing announced that Coca-Cola Consolidated has joined the team as an official sponsor and soft drink for Wallace and the No. 23 team.

“We’re excited to welcome Coca-Cola Consolidated to the 23XI family,” said team president Steve Lauletta. “For decades, Coca-Cola Consolidated has had a significant impact in the communities they serve, and we look forward to collaborating with them on meaningful programs that give college students a behind-the-scenes look at how our team operates. We also look forward to creating special moments for 23XI fans to meet Bubba at select races.”