Bubba Wallace labels post-wreck apologies as one of the "hardest things" after consecutive DNFs

23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace, after recording two consecutive DNF results, insisted that walking up to a driver and confessing their mistake is one of the hardest things to do in NASCAR.

In the recent Cup race at Dover Motor Speedway, Wallace was wrecked out during a restart in the final stage. The #23 Toyota driver went three-wide with Zane Smith and teammate Tyler Reddick in the bottom lane. The ensuing contact between Smith and Wallace forced the latter to retire from the race.

Ahead of the Cup race at Kansas Speedway, Wallace disclosed that Smith hasn't contacted him yet. Wallace emphasized that if he were in Smith's position, he would reach out to the other driver involved in the wreck to address the issue. He also referenced his contact with Brad Keselowski in the championship race and how he took the initiative to reach out to Keselowski.

"That's what I've always done. I wrecked Brad [Keselowski] at Phoenix and that one was hard to swallow. How I took him out of a top-10 run from him and walked up to him after the race. That's one of the hardest things to do is to talk to somebody face-to-face, but I did that," Wallace told Frontstretch [at 3:47].

Bubba Wallace further mentioned that Keselowski spoke to his team after their recent contact at COTA. Although Wallace believes the Dover incident was a racing deal, he was expecting rookie Zane Smith to have a word with him.

"You look at the video from last week the #45 and the #71, it's a racing deal for sure, I just caught the bad end of the deal. But if I was - roles reversed, I would be reaching out, you know, 'Hey man, I was put in a bad spot and I messed up' or what not. I don't know, you shove your a** in the corner and be like, 'What happened, I don't know,'" he concluded.

Two consecutive DNFs have put Bubba Wallace out of the playoff picture, as he hopes to bounce back at Kansas Speedway.

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Bubba Wallace is aiming for a turnaround at Kansas Speedway

The #23 Toyota driver kicked off his 2024 Cup Series campaign on a solid note, racking up three top-five and a top-10 result. However, his momentum was derailed by two consecutive retirements at Talladega and Dover.

Bubba Wallace is excited for this weekend's race at Kansas Speedway, a track where he has previously reached the victory lane in the Cup Series, driving the #45 Toyota in 2022.

"We’re excited to get to Kansas and turn the ship around," he was quoted by NASCAR.com.

The 30-year-old has two top-five and a top-10 result at the mile-and-half oval. He was in contention for the victory in the playoff race last season until a tire puncture ruined it.

Bubba Wallace was third fastest in the practice session and had a good long-run pace. He lines up 23rd, beside Zane Smith, for the AdventHealth 400 scheduled on May 5, at 3:00 PM ET.