Bubba Wallace reflects on his mother’s advice to end early slump: “I'm just trying to change myself”

Bubba Wallace has endured a tough start to his 2023 campaign after a promising season last year. In the first six races of the season, Wallace has managed only a single top-ten finish and has an average finishing position of 22.

Although Bubba Wallace has been unlucky in some races, his form has slumped over the winter, leading to an unimpressive start to the season. The 23XI Racing driver is now trying to steady himself by avoiding the "slippery slope of self-doubt".

Heeding the advice given by his mother, Wallace is working on improving himself. In an interview with the Associated Press, he said:

"It's day by day, right? Just got to be a better version of myself. My mom had said to me, ‘You know, if you want things to change, you got to change yourself.’ "

The #23 driver added:

"So I'm just trying to change myself and be more active, working out, eating better, and just trying to have a better mindset so Richmond should be good for us."

Following a 37th-place finish at the road course event at the Circuit of the Americas, Wallace was dejected. He blamed himself for the "rookie mistake" that forced him to retire.

In a post-race interview, the 29-year-old criticized himself as he stated:

"Trying my hardest not to go down that slippery slope of self-doubt here. Two weeks in a row making rookie mistakes. Six years in Cup, need to be replaced."

Heading into the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Speedway, Wallace will be hoping for a strong result. Although the 29-year-old doesn't have a strong track record at Richmond, he will be keen to improve his career-best 12th-place finish on the short track.

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23XI Racing responds to Bubba Wallace's comments

The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix inspired mixed feelings in the 23XI garage. Tyler Reddick celebrated an incredible victory, while on the other hand, Bubba Wallace retired from the race, continuing his poor run of form.

NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix

23XI Racing President Steve Lauletta responded to Wallace's brutal self-criticism by saying that the #23 driver had every team member's support. Making an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, he said:

"(23XI Racing) just keeps supporting (Bubba Wallace). He knows he has everybody’s support at 23XI no matter what happens. We continue to keep our arm around him and each other. We all have our down days, we all have our up day."

Lauletta added:

"We just try to keep that in mind as part of our culture to ride the ups and the downs and not get too high one way or the another. We work with Bubba and everybody on that."