Spotter for Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 team owned by Michael Jordan recently shared his honest opinion on the controversy NASCAR has gotten itself into in the 2025 season. The governing body of Stock Car racing has been called out for alleged inconsistency in throwing out cautions towards the end of races. In a clip from the Door Bumper Clear podcast shared on X, Freddie Kraft urged NASCAR to get rid of the green-white-checkered situation altogether to remain consistent.
When NASCAR introduced the green-white-checkered flag rule (also known as NASCAR overtime) in 2004, it did so to ensure fans saw drivers finish the race under racing conditions and not under a caution. However, NASCAR has faced criticism over the exercise of flagging caution in the dying stages of a race.
There have already been several crashes in the final two laps, and NASCAR delivered different decisions when it came to the choice of finishing the race under caution. The same happened in Atlanta last Sunday when Christopher Bell won the race after NASCAR threw a caution in the final lap of the overtime start. On the other hand, William Byron had to race to the finish line at Daytona in the previous race to take his second consecutive victory after a last-lap crash.
Speaking about NASCAR's inconsistency, Bubba Wallace’s spotter said:
"I've said this on here before for years, a caution is a caution. You know, if you're going to throw a yellow for Blaney spinning by himself on the apron, you have to throw yellow for a f**king 20-car pileup down the back straightaway. That's why I said like, I am all for just get rid of them (green-white-checkered), like just because all we do is tear up race cars."
When Tommy Baldwin asked if he remembers why NASCAR got rid of finishing races under caution if there is a crash in the final two laps, Kraft responded by saying:
"Well, I don't remember why we ever started green-white checkers. For fans? They wanted a more exciting finish?"
Baldwin then continued by saying that the problem with NASCAR is that they are too worried by what fans say on social media and they worry more about that instead of caring about the sport and the drivers.
Bubba Wallace speaks on his mistake in the Daytona 500
Bubba Wallace recently reflected on his performance in the season-opening Daytona 500. The Alabama native had a strong run, leading 18 laps and competing at the front for much of the race. However, a late-race crash ultimately left him finishing in 29th place.
Responding to a question asked by FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Bubba Wallace admitted that he and his spotter could have made better decisions in the closing laps of the Daytona 500. He specifically pointed to his move to block the top lane, which he now regrets.
“I should've known better to not block the top because the pace is too fast and Freddie should've known better. We're sitting there texting and then he said, I don't even think I replied back, but he said, 'You know who we blocked at the top, right? The 24, and look who won the race.' You never know with those races now. It's tough to finish how we did knowing the speed and performance we had in our car, but just wasn't meant to be,” he shared.
Bubba Wallace is working with a new crew chief in 2025 with Booty Barker moving on to a different role. He failed to make it to the playoffs in 2024 and is determined to make it this season with a win in the regular season.
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