Bubba Wallace Jr. secured his first career win at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2021, placing the 23XI team on the winning map. Over the weekend, NASCAR was back at the 28-year-old’s favorite track, and the oddsmakers couldn’t place him away from winning odds.
Wallace Jr. entered the race with the best odds of +1400, ranking third on odd boards and making a tier with five drivers. The No.23 driver of Toyota Camry TRD went on to secure the ninth pole in the qualifying race, which was a perfect starting position.
Bubba Wallace Jr. went on to dominate the opening round of races, starting in the ninth position and finishing in the top five, battling Larson for the lead.
NASCAR updated the win on Twitter:
The second set became rocky for the 23XI driver, giving Joey Logano an elimination. However, it turned out that Logano was pushing another car in front. Stage two ended with Wallace Jr. nowhere to be seen in the top ten.
Wallace Jr. made a comeback in the final and third stages, giving his fans hopes of taking the checkered flag. With 53 laps remaining in the victory lane, he challenged Ryan Blaney to take the lead.
Bubba Wallace Jr. leads 37 laps at Talladega Superspeedway
After a long fight, Bubba Wallace Jr. eventually took the lead with 37 laps to go. The only assignment he had was to hold on and not let his foot away from accelerating the pedal.
However, with 28 laps remaining, Wallace Jr. decided to increase his chances of finishing strong by taking a pit stop. The decision proved costly, as it led to him giving up the leading position.
With 25 laps to go, Wallace Jr. was sitting in position 11 and kept stretching. He finished in position 17.
23XI Racing posted about Wallace Jr.'s finish on Twitter:
Following a spectacular performance at Talladega, taking a 15 lead out of 188 laps, Bubba Wallace Jr. bagged 30 points at the end of the race. This takes his tally to 193 points at position 21 behind Chris Buescher.
Wallace began the season sitting in the top ten of the Cup Series table. However, as the season progressed, his points curve took a downtrend, and he is now sitting in the top 30 of the drivers’ standings.