Bubba Wallace’s 23XI teammate makes an honest admission after ousting him for the COTA pole: “I was messing his lap up for sure”

Tyler Reddick and his 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace will start 1-2 in Sunday’s (March 2) EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas. It will be the first-ever front-row sweep for 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Reddick won his 10th career pole, besting Wallace by merely 0.224 seconds. Despite having a strategy set for tackling the field during the qualifiers, the duo thought they were messing up each other’s laps.

Reflecting on the same during a recent interview, Reddick said (via Speedway Digest):

“I remember going into (turn) 1 and I'm like, 'Dang, I wish he would've gapped himself a little bit more, because I felt like I was messing his lap up for sure. Talking to him after the fact, his focus was to go out and follow me and kind of see what I was going to do and try to mimic it.”

However, Reddick felt Wallace was getting better at running on road courses. Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix is the first road course race of the season and marks Wallace’s fifth start at the Austin-based racetrack. His best finish at COTA (P15) came last year in March.

“He's learning and if he keeps it up here soon, I'll be having to try to battle him head-to-head for these poles. It's been really nice to see his growth and him improve,” Reddick said of Bubba Wallace.

Wallace sits fifth in the standings, eight points behind Reddick. The Alabama native has been winless since September 2022 and is currently vying for his third career win in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Bubba Wallace drops retirement verdict ahead of COTA race

Bubba Wallace is in his eighth full season this year. He has had a steady start to his 2025 campaign, winning a duel race ahead of the 67th Daytona 500 and finishing inside the top 10 last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

But Wallace hasn’t won in years. And he knows better than sticking around just for the paycheck. In an episode of the Rubbin’ Is Racing podcast, Wallace addressed his situation and said:

“I think there comes to a point where if you feel like your competitiveness starts to fall, then it's like okay, you need to look yourself in the mirror that next season that comes up and be like this could be your last."

“I would honestly say I'm not the one to just ride around for a paycheck. I still want to be competitive, and so when that opportunity runs out, then that'll be it for me,” Wallace added.

That said, on September 18, 2024, Bubba Wallace signed a multi-year contract renewal with 23XI Racing. The deal will keep him behind the wheel of the No. 24 Camry through 2025 and beyond.