NASCAR: The inconvenient truth about Bubba Wallace

Many NASCAR fans will never admit it, but Bubba Wallace has placed himself among the best superspeedway drivers in the Cup Series.

The name Bubba Wallace has quickly become one of the most recognizable names in NASCAR, among fans and non-fans alike, specifically after the many controversial events of the 2020 season.

Of course, many fans will point out that the 23XI Racing driver’s recognizability has nothing to do with his results on the race track, and that would not be an incorrect assessment.

Despite his struggles, however, the 28-year-old Mobile, Alabama native has solidified himself as one of the best superspeedway drivers in the Cup Series.

Wallace always seems to be there when it counts, and that’s what superspeedway races are all about.

The driver of the #23 Toyota does have only one superspeedway win, and many will point out that he was more or less told he was the winner during a rainstorm; he didn’t actually cross the finish line and take the checkered flag in front of everyone else on the final lap.

But he has consistently put himself in the mix at the front at the end of these races, and at multiple tracks.

In his first race as a full-time driver in 2018, he finished in second place in the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway behind Austin Dillon. He matched that finish again in 2022, this time finishing just 0.036 seconds behind Austin Cindric.

He picked up his first career stage win at Talladega Superspeedway last April, and he finished in second place at Daytona International Speedway again in August. His first career victory then came at Talladega Superspeedway in October, where he was also credited with another stage victory because of when the race was halted.

While there will always be critics of his first win, it’s certainly not the first time a race has been shortened due to rain, and Wallace was the legitimate leader when the action was stopped; there was no controversy surrounding his placement, because if there were, you better believe that the criticism would be tenfold.

We also can’t neglect to mention Wallace’s run at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which was turned into a quasi-superspeedway after last season, back in March.

He ran second behind race winner William Byron on the final lap before a multi-car wreck coming to the checkered flag resulted in a 13th place finish — still his second best finish of the year behind his second Daytona 500 runner-up result.

Of course, it’s not a stretch to say that, throughout the rest of the schedule, he has performed at a below average level.

Aside from his fifth place finish in a fuel mileage race at Pocono Raceway last June, he lacks a single top 10 finish in a non-superspeedway race since finishing in ninth at Michigan International Speedway in August 2020, when he was still driving the #43 Chevrolet for Richard Petty Motorsports. Before that, he had just two career top five finishes in more than two and a half seasons.

Additionally, new teammate Kurt Busch has come in and done an impressive job in comparison to his teammate, despite the fact that this is only his first year behind the wheel of the #45 Toyota.

Despite three finishes of 32nd place or worse, he has scored twice as many top five finishes and four times as many top 10 finishes as Wallace, and he sits two positions higher than him in the point standings with an average finish that is exactly four spots higher per race.

But when it comes to superspeedways, Wallace has made his presence felt at the front late, rain or no rain, and he has done so on a consistent basis.

Will Wallace be able to defend his October win at Talladega Superspeedway this Sunday, April 24? Will he ever manage to secure a full-length race victory? The GEICO 500 is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. Start your free trial of FuboTV now if you have not yet done so!