NASCAR: Top 3 ‘MVP’ candidates for the 2021 season

NASCAR “MVP” candidates for 2021: No. 3 – Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace left Richard Petty Motorsports after the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season to drive for 23XI Racing, the new team entered by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan.

It was an inconsistent year for 23XI Racing to say the least, and I think we can all agree that Jordan entered the year with expectations that were not realistic.

However, one of his expectations was that Wallace would be able to win, and Jordan even made quite clear that he “doesn’t sign checks for losers”. This statement came in response to suggestions from fans that Wallace’s hiring to drive the #23 Toyota was nothing more than PR stunt.

While it didn’t come in a conventional matter, Wallace was, in fact, able to win.

The 28-year-old Mobile, Alabama native won the round of 12 playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway after it was called due to rain before the end of the second stage, but beyond the halfway point.

This win didn’t do anything for Wallace’s season as far as the playoffs were concerned, considering the fact that he didn’t qualify for the playoffs and therefore couldn’t advance to the round of 8, but it did make him the only non-playoff driver (among full-time drivers) to win a race in 2021.

NOTE: By non-playoff drivers, we mean drivers who failed to qualify for the playoffs, not drivers who won playoff races after being eliminated earlier in the playoffs.

Part-time driver A.J. Allmendinger did win the race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in August.