Like it or not, Bubba Wallace is not going anywhere anytime soon

It might have taken Bubba Wallace six races to finish higher than ninth place for the first time during the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. But his back-to-back finishes of third place at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway much more closely resemble that he and the No. 23 team have had so far this year.

Wallace, a driver whose abilities have been doubted on more than one occasion since joining 23XI Racing in 2021, even went on record over the offseason and said that he doesn't want to compete merely for a paycheck, and if he isn't competitive, he doesn't want to stick around.

Those comments, which initially led some to dig up Michael Jordan's "we don't sign checks for losers" remark about Wallace from four years ago, seem to have lit a fire underneath the 31-year-old Mobile, Alabama native, who has had consistent top-tier speed across a wide variety of venues so far this year.

Wallace sits eighth place in the point standings after back-to-back third place finishes, and his stage point total through seven races ranks third in the series.

He has also notably run more laps in the top three, and in the top five, than any other driver this season.

The back-to-back third place finishes show that things are finally clicking for the driver still seeking his first win since September 2022, his first win in the No. 23 car since October 2021, and his first ever win in the No. 23 car in a non-rain-shortened race.

A lot of fans have pointed out that Wallace seems a lot more relaxed in 2025 than he has in years past. He is less hard on himself and less irritated and testy when things don't go his way, and that renewed approach has allowed him to take what's available and run well on a much more consistent basis.

Of course, Wallace would obviously like to get back to victory lane at some point.

But he isn't putting an overexaggerated level of pressure on himself like he has in past years, and like many fans have come to expect.

“It's been two years for me, so what's another six races, right?" Wallace told Beyond the Flag. "It's not from a lack of effort, that's for sure. We’ve gone into this year with a fresh mindset."

That fresh mindset seems to be working, and it also includes a crew chief change, with Charles Denike having taken over from Bootie Barker atop the No. 23 team's pit box for the 2025 season.

"Having a new crew chief, and Charles being a part of our deal and leading the ship, has been a huge benefit for us," Wallace continued. "We've racked up a lot of stage points and put ourselves in contention just about every week, and now we're seeing the results pay off.

"All the effort that goes into this is definitely appreciated from top down. It just shows you how tough the sport is. No matter how good of a day you're having. It can always be ripped out from underneath you, so you have to keep the mentals in check, and just enjoy the moment that we're in."

A lot of drivers like to focus on the present, and Wallace is no different in that regard. But a lot of drivers also refuse to look ahead, or at the very least, refuse to admit they are looking ahead. They always take an "in the moment", week-to-week approach when discussing their outlook for the season.

But a more relaxed Wallace is not afraid to admit that he is looking at the big picture, even as he looks to embrace the current success had by himself and the team.

“You have to have dreams, right?" he continued. "I find myself often thinking about getting back to victory lane and doing that soon, so you can enjoy the rest of the season and not be under a ball of stress."

But each race is no longer the "be-all and end-all" for Wallace. If he doesn't win, he is still able to embrace the positives from a solid weekend, and that stress is kept to a minimum.

"Right now, it's been good the last two weeks, obviously finishing on the podium has been really good, but we're close."

Last year, Wallace missed the playoffs, and it was because he failed to win; he finished ahead of several playoff drivers in total points scored during the regular season, including eventual champion Joey Logano. So that stress can certainly mount the longer he goes without winning.

But with teammate Tyler Reddick, who has won five times since joining the team in 2023 and advanced all the way to the Championship 4 last year, one could have argued that the pressure on Wallace this year was already greater than it's ever been.

Wallace has never truly been able to outperform a teammate since coming to 23XI Racing, whether it was Kurt Busch in 2022 or Reddick since. And admittedly, comparing him to Riley Herbst is probably not the best comparison to make to try to prop him up at this stage.

Yet he finds himself just five points below Reddick in the standings through seven races in 2025, and with both a higher average starting spot and more than twice as many laps led.

If he can finally put all the pieces together, you get a sense that it will be like the floodgates opening up, rather than a fluky one-off trip to victory lane.

Wallace has always embraced the backlash and criticism he has gotten from fans. But now that the numbers are truly in his favor, he seems to be enjoying it a lot more than usual.

And likewise, the fans seem to be embracing him more than usual.

Wallace is looking to keep the good times rolling on Sunday afternoon at Darlington Raceway after qualifying in fifth place on Saturday afternoon (full starting lineup here).

"We still have a lot of work to do to get to the top spot.”

The Goodyear 400 is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Darlington Raceway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 6. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action from the "Lady in Black"!