Bubba Wallace’s spotter “heartbroken” by Harrison Burton’s “wild card” Daytona win

Bubba Wallace's spotter Freddie Kraft was left heartbroken after his driver was sidelined from the playoff picture, as Harrison Burton snapped the Daytona win. The 23XI Racing driver led the 16 laps at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 but couldn't dominate until the "wild card" race's end. While Kraft is yet to open up on the race, his fellow spotter Brett Griffin, shared the former's dismay.

Wallace began his 164-lap run from 18th place and climbed to a sixth-place finish. The 23XI Racing driver was drifting away from the playoff cutline, but his recent string of performances since the Nashville Superspeedway race has pulled him up. The #23 driver has collected two top-5s and five top-10s from the last seven battles. However, Burton's win came as a disappointment for the Alabama native's spotter.

Had the race been won by any driver who already has a regular season win this year, Wallace would've emerged above the playoff threshold. However, as the Wood Brothers Racing driver sealed his career-first win, another playoff spot was secured, dealing a blow to the former's odds of crossing the playoff threshold.

Kraft was disappointed by the #21 Ford grabbing the win and his dismay was expressed by Brett Griffin. The latter has spotted Clint Bowyer, Elliott Sadler, and Jeff Burton's races. While he's not fixated on one driver, he sometimes fills in for his colleagues. Amid Austin Dillon's spotter, Brandon Benesch's suspension, Griffin was listed as the replacement for the #3 Chevy driver's Michigan race. He shared Bubba Wallace's spotter's feelings on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote:

"Freddie is the first guy out because Harrison won. We all knew this was a wild card race. He’s heartbroken by the win as he should be. How he navigates that on DBC (Door Bumper Clear podcast) will be interesting. Emotions are still emotions."

Bubba Wallace is 17th in the Playoff Picture, 21 points shy of RFK Racing's Chris Buescher in 16th.

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"I'll take all that weight on my shoulders" - Bubba Wallace on the wide gap between him and Tyler Reddick in 2024

While Bubba Wallace is on the bubble, his teammate Tyler Reddick is way above and leads the regular season fight. After grabbing his second win this season at the Michigan International Speedway, the #45 Toyota driver climbed atop the standings, dethroning Chase Elliott.

Reddick boasts two wins, 11 top-5s, and 17 top-10s. On the other hand, Wallace is yet to place his ride in victory lane and has five top-5s and ten top-10s. Despite having the same machinery under the hood, the #23 Toyota driver is struggling to make the playoffs while the #45 Toyota driver is on the verge of bagging his first regular season title.

Wallace said the contrasting stats are "unacceptable". He said (via PRNlive on X):

"Got one car fighting for a regular season championship and another on the bubble. It's unacceptable. I'll take all that weight on my shoulders. I should've won multiple times and I haven't. We don't even deserve to be here and we aren't. Gotta go win, that's it."

The regular season final race will witness 501.322 miles of action. Scheduled to kick off at the Darlington Raceway, the engines will fire up on Sunday evening, September 1 at 6:00 PM ET.