“Oops”: Bubba Wallace insider gives clarification over comments on NASCAR tire selection

Bubba Wallace's spotter, Freddie Kraft, engaged in a heated discussion with Door Bumper Clear co-host Tommy Baldwin regarding NASCAR's tire compounds for the championship race. The duo was divided on whether the season finale at Phoenix should feature two tire compounds or a single, softer compound.

Last weekend's race at Phoenix was widely considered by critics and fans as one of the best Cup Series races held at the one-mile oval. This was largely due to the two different tire compounds allocated to each team. Drivers used the softer (red) compound to charge through the field, making the race much more entertaining.

Although Bubba Wallace's spotter acknowledged that last weekend's race was highly entertaining, he argued that NASCAR should use a single tire compound for the championship race. He argued that with two compounds, luck could play a major role in determining the champion, as the timing of cautions could either benefit or ruin strategies.

Door Bumper Clear co-host Tommy Baldwin held the opposing view, arguing that NASCAR should introduce the option tire at every track. Previewing the latest episode of the podcast, Kraft wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"Was a little fired up yesterday. Oops."

The #23 Toyota spotter explained on the podcast that a driver who saves all their option (red) tires for the end of the race would ultimately have an advantage in the championship decider if the caution fell in the right window.

"The question is, do we want this in the championship race? I'm in a weird spot there because, it's the best racing we have and it produced that because of the two different tires we have. I know a lot of drivers are saying, 'Let's just go to the reds and it's gonna be better!' The reds would be better than if we just ran the yellows. But it wouldn't be as good as a race it was yesterday... you had comers and goers." he said [from 30:57].

"I don't want your season long champion to be decided by who is courageous enough to save a set to tires," he added.

Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, and Josh Berry participated in a tire test on Monday, with NASCAR exploring the possibility of using a softer tire compound for the championship race.

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Bubba Wallace elaborates on unfortunate retirement at Phoenix

Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 Leidos Toyota, and Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Best Friends Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway - Source: Getty

Bubba Wallace's outing at Phoenix Raceway was cut short by an unfortunate mechanical issue that denied him a strong finish. Battling for a top-10 spot in the final stage, his #23 Toyota suffered a brake rotor failure, and he crashed into the outside barrier.

Elaborating on the incident, the 31-year-old said that he didn't have any indication about the brake failure until the final moment, when it blew up. He told Fox Sports:

"Brakes blew out. Unfortunate. I didn’t have any sign leading up to that last restart there. Just noticed on lap three or four that the pedal just traveled further than it had just by a little bit. So turned on my fans, came back and that was it. Bummer."

Bubba Wallace was classified 29th at the end of the race and occupies 12th place in the standings after four races in the season. The #23 Toyota returns to action this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400 on March 16.