“Sounds like a great idea”: Bubba Wallace insider approves fan’s suggestion for NASCAR tire combinations

23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace's spotter, Freddie Kraft, endorsed a suggestion from a NASCAR fan regarding the future of the option tire compound. He supported the idea of making the option compound the new baseline primary tire while introducing an even softer compound.

For the race weekend at Phoenix Raceway, Goodyear and NASCAR introduced two tire compounds after experimenting with the concept last year. Each team was allocated six sets of baseline primary tires (yellow) and two sets of softer option tires (red) for the race. The softer compound provided increased grip but had greater lap-time falloff.

The introduction of the option tire added excitement to the Shriners Children's 500, allowing drivers to bolt on the softer compound and charge through the field. Following the race, many drivers suggested that NASCAR and Goodyear should experiment with an even softer compound.

One X user proposed making the current option tire (red) the new baseline primary tire (yellow) while developing an even softer compound for future races.

Freddie Kraft, co-host of Door Bumper Clear and spotter for the #23 Toyota, remarked that it was a great idea. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"Well you have your compounds a little mixed up. The Primes are the yellows. But I assume you mean make the reds the baseline and have an even softer option tire. Sounds like a great idea to me."

Goodyear and NASCAR have no immediate plans to reintroduce dual tire compounds for this year. However, one day after the race at Phoenix, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, and Josh Berry took part in a tire test aimed at developing a single compound that generates sufficient tire wear.

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Freddie Kraft shares how "dad" Bubba Wallace has changed

Bubba Wallace (in-car) celebrates with wife, Amanda Wallace, and son, Becks Hayden Wallace, in victory lane for Duel 1 at Daytona International Speedway - Source: Imagn

Bubba Wallace and his wife Amanda welcomed their son, Becks, in September last year. Becks has already made a trip to the victory lane, following his father's victory in the Duel race at Daytona International Speedway.

In a recent episode of DBC, Freddie Kraft shared that fatherhood has brought a noticeable change in Wallace. Kraft noted that he is in a better mental space and hopes it translates to better results on the track.

"Dad Bubba is a different Bubba. I think we saw that with [Kevin] Harvick, I think we see with a lot of guys - once you start having kids and you want them to see the right way to do things. So he's definitely a different guy this year, he's in a better mind space and hopefully it's showing on the racetrack," he said on DBC [from 16:46].

In the opening rounds of the season, Bubba Wallace secured a single top-10 finish at Atlanta but retired at Daytona and, most recently, Phoenix. Following a mechanical issue last weekend, he dropped six spots in the standings, dropping to 12th.

Wallace will now head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend for the Pennzoil 400, scheduled for this Sunday, March 16, at 3:30 PM ET.