"Good from start to finish": Bubba Wallace delivers his verdict on NASCAR's Clash 'show' at Bowman Gray

Bubba Wallace started off his season on a positive note after he registered a top 5 finish in the Clash at Bowman Gray. The 23XI Racing driver finished in 5th place in NASCAR's first race of the season in an event which was the sport's first outing in the Cup Series at the venue since 1971.

However, Wallace wasn't entirely unfamiliar with racing at Bowman Gray. As he was coming up the ranks as a young racer, the #23 driver had raced at the Winston-Salem track. In fact, he recalled an incident involving Ryan Blaney ahead of the Clash recently.

After the race on Sunday, Bubba Wallace was asked in a post-race interview whether he felt the same ambience coming back to Bowman Gray after over a decade. He said as per Speedway Digest:

"I did. I thought NASCAR did a good job of making a show, which is exactly what they wanted for all this. I think the pre-race stuff was really fun. I thought the fans were engaged. It was good. It was good from start to finish."

Wallace mentioned that the best thing about them racing at Bowman Gray was that instead of a long flight home, most of them can get back in a 45 minute drive. It's worth mentioning that for the last three seasons, the Clash was held at the LA Coliseum.

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Bubba Wallace delivers his assesment on the short-track racing product after Bowman Gray Clash

During his post-race interview, Bubba Wallace also shared his take on the racing product he experienced and was a part of during NASCAR's outing on the short-track. Ever since the introduction of the Next Gen car, the one racetrack the governing body hasn't been able to figure out is the short track.

In 2024, NASCAR faced a lot of criticism from insiders and fans for the poor racing product on the short track, especially after Bristol in September.

Sharing his experience behind the wheel, Bubba Wallace said that his car was 'just okay.' He explained:

"We were just okay all weekend. It’s no surprise that the #12 was really fast, the #9 was really fast. They got something figured out with this tire, obviously Martinsville. I have to dissect on what I need to do to be better to get the most potential out of the tires. That’s been the biggest thing for me. But yeah, all in all, it was racy."

Wallace remarked that while the drivers were using the bumper approach to pass, it was the only approach they had.

He said that with the Next Gen car, the slams looks 'egregious', but the cars were strong enough to sustain the impact.