NASCAR: Bubba Wallace will not drive the #23 Toyota

Bubba Wallace will not compete behind the wheel of 23XI Racing’s #23 Toyota during the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series postseason.

23XI Racing have decided to move Bubba Wallace, the full-time driver of the #23 Toyota, to the #45 Toyota for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Kurt Busch, the full-time driver of the #45 Toyota, has been sidelined since his qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway back in July left him with concussion-like symptoms.

Ty Gibbs, who competes full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity Series team, has driven the #45 Toyota in each of the last six races as Busch’s replacement.

Busch was originally slated to make the playoffs, as he won the race at Kansas Speedway back in mid-May, he was locked into the top 30 in the point standings, and he had been granted a medical waiver to retain playoff eligibility despite missing multiple races.

But when it became clear that he was not going to be ready for the playoffs, he requested that this waiver be withdrawn.

As a result, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, the highest ranking non-winner in the regular season standings, is set to join the other 15 winners in the upcoming four-round, 10-race postseason.

However, because the #45 Toyota’s points and win are tied to the #45 team and not specifically to Busch, the #45 team was one of the 16 teams which qualified for the owner playoffs, thanks to Busch’s win.

Meanwhile, Blaney’s #12 team did not qualify and is now locked in a 10-week battle for 17th place in the owner standings.

With the owner championship being where the money is at for the race teams, 23XI Racing’s decision to move a more experienced Wallace to the #45 Toyota for the playoffs makes more sense than keeping the 19-year-old Gibbs behind the wheel, especially since the #23 team for which Wallace competed throughout the regular season is eliminated.

Gibbs is set to drive the #23 Toyota whenever he competes throughout the Cup Series playoffs. There is no word yet on when Busch might be able to return.

The #45 team begins the playoffs in a 12th place tie in the owner standings, right on the round of 12 cut line.

The playoffs are scheduled to begin this Sunday, September 4 with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. USA Network is set to broadcast the race live beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET, so don’t miss your chance to begin a free trial of FuboTV now!