"Nothing right there is beneficial" - Bubba Wallace Jr.'s outburst at Nashville called out by NASCAR veterans

Bubba Wallace Jr.'s pit crew has come under fire in recent weeks for lousy pit road performances and blunders that resurfaced at Nashville Superspeedway, prompting the 23XI Racing driver to vent his displeasure with his team mid-race openly.

At the NASCAR Race Hub this week, Chad Knaus and Jamie McMurray discussed Wallace Jr.'s pit road difficulties this season as well as what happened in Nashville. Hendrick Motorsports Vice President of Competition Chad Knaus was not pleased with Bubba Wallace Jr. shouting at his crew chief on the radio, which Jamie McMurray agreed to. Knaus said:

“They’ve had a lot of problems on pit road. We’ve talked about that in the past. I don’t like the way that came across. Look, I’ve lived it. I can say it because I’ve done it. I’ve lashed out at Jimmie (Johnson). Jimmie’s lashed out at me. I’ve gone through all this and nothing right there is beneficial.”

Jamie McMurray agreed with Chad Knaus that Wallace was aggressive, and he had every reason to be frustrated by the crew chief. McMurray added that Wallace Jr. and Bootie had issues before the break during the race at Nashville Superspeedway.

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Bubba Wallace Jr.’s crew chief has cost him several victories in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season

Wallace Jr. recovered from a qualifying mistake and raced his way up to sixth at the halfway mark of Sunday's race after clocking the quickest time in practice. However, during a cautionary pit stop, Wallace Jr.'s team left the wheel loose on his car, leading crew chief Bootie Barker to advise Wallace to stop and drive the car cautiously back to the pits to have the wheel tightened up.

Bubba Wallace Jr. missed a lap due to the incident, which was a continuation of the pit road troubles that the #23 crew has had all season. The team left the wheel free at the Circuit of the Americas, which fell off; they also left the wheels loose in Richmond and Talladega.

A pit road penalty robbed Bubba Wallace Jr. of a potential victory at Kansas, and a misunderstanding of NASCAR's damaged vehicle regulations caused Wallace Jr. to fail to complete the Coca-Cola 600 despite not incurring serious damage in a multi-car incident.

If the pit crew can get it all together for a single race, the #23 car has had plenty of speed all year, especially on the 1.5-mile course, and Victory Lane isn't out of reach. But there's a big "if" there. If things continue as they have, people should expect further meltdowns from Wallace Jr. and substantial changes next year, if not sooner.