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23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace finds himself in a tough spot heading into the final race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Wallace managed to get into his first-ever postseason appearance after making the top 16 list of drivers solely on points during the regular season. With two races under the drivers' belts in the first round, he is P14 in the standings.
Only 12 drivers will advance to the next round after the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway this Sunday. Wallace currently finds himself 19 points short of the final spot at the moment.
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It has been a breakthrough year for the #23 team at 23XI Racing and the Mobile, Alabama native. However, it remains to be seen if Bubba Wallace can pull something out of the bag this weekend.
A win at the 0.5-mile-long track would certainly mean he qualifies for the Round of 12. However, if he is to make the cut on points, a lot of other drivers' final positions will need to fall into place in Bristol.
The Athletic's Jeff Gluck, a prominent NASCAR analyst seems to be taking a realistic approach to Wallace's fate this Sunday. He chose Martin Truex Jr. as the driver he thinks would advance to the next round in a discussion on The Athletic and said:
"Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are virtually out already, so they are easy picks. Bubba Wallace has a lot of work to do and need a lot of things to happen in order to advance, so he’s probably out as well.
"That leaves one spot. It’s impossible to predict without simply making a wild guess, but I’m picking Truex to survive this round."
Bubba Wallace's crew chief keeps it short as he talks about crew's gameplan going into Bristol playoff race
Booty Barker, the crew chief of the #23 team at 23XI Racing, recently spoke about what the team and Bubba Wallace need to achieve in Bristol this Sunday. Keeping his responses short, Barker told frontstretch.com:
"I mean, just do the best you can. Same as we've done everywhere, qualify well, stage points, run up front."
Wallace will need to conjure up something special to once again qualify for the Round of 12 as the drivers head to 'The Last Great Colosseum' this Sunday.
