![\"Bubba](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2233097928-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDARLINGTON, S.C. \u2014 A smiling Bubba Wallace stood on Darlington Raceway\u2019s pit road feeling good following Sunday\u2019s playoff opener. The vibes were shared by his 23XI Racing team, many of whom congratulated Wallace on a strong start to the playoffs. That included team co-owner Michael Jordan, who came over to offer Wallace a hug and some encouraging words.<\/p>\n
On a night when several other title-eligible drivers experienced major issues, Wallace\u2019s race wasn\u2019t flawless, but he overcame his setbacks. His reward was a sixth-place finish, a result that was even better than the box score indicates because of what it represents.<\/p>\n
This driver and team have a reputation for not always handling adversity well, but they rallied back after an issue on pit road. In contrast, many of the other playoff drivers were unable to do so on Sunday when faced with various challenges. And unlike Wallace, who is 25 points above the cutoff to advance to the next round, with two races remaining in this one, many of his competitors now need to manage the predicament they\u2019re in with their points.<\/p>\n
So, pardon Wallace if finishing sixth, in some respects, feels even more significant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was telling myself, just realizing the big-picture moments every lap,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cJust don\u2019t erase that gap that you have to your competitors; know when to race, know when to just kind of chill. All in all, a really, really good day.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cKnow when to race, know when to just kind of chill,\u201d Wallace said of his performance in Sunday\u2019s playoff opener. \u201cAll in all, a really, really good day.\u201d (Logan Riely \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Things have changed significantly since Wallace last qualified for the playoffs.<\/p>\n
In 2023, the 23XI Racing driver didn\u2019t solidify his spot until the very last regular-season race, doing so via points accumulation and not by winning. That he was later eliminated in the second round was inconsequential; just making the playoffs was considered a big feat for someone who was still coming into his own<\/p>\n
However, this year is different. Thanks to an impressive win at Indianapolis in late July, Wallace didn\u2019t have the angst of being on the playoff bubble all the way to the conclusion of the regular season. That victory lifted an enormous weight off his shoulders, an experience he\u2019s been relishing ever since. Gone were the questions of whether he\u2019d make the playoffs. Instead, they were replaced by questions of how he had begun preparing for\u00a0the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Part of that preparation included focusing on ensuring that, when mistakes or misfortune do occur, it doesn\u2019t snowball. This has been an area of focus for Charles Denike, who took over as Wallace\u2019s crew chief this season. His impact has paid dividends with his attention to detail and approach proving key in fully unlocking Wallace\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n
In the past, when something went wrong, both Wallace and the team often compounded the problem by being unable to move forward. They\u2019ve improved that with Sunday night offering a snapshot as to how.<\/p>\n
Wallace was running solidly in the top five in Stage 1 when a mistimed exit from his pit stall nearly resulted in a collision with Zane Smith. Although there was no damage, Wallace was forced to back up, and because all of this occurred under green-flag conditions, he lost several valuable positions on the track.<\/p>\n
In years past, Wallace would\u2019ve likely come over the radio to express his frustration explicitly. He and the team would\u2019ve let that mistake linger, dwelling on it throughout a race.<\/p>\n
There was none of this on Sunday night. Beyond clarifying the issue so it wouldn\u2019t happen again, neither Wallace nor the team said anything over the radio. What happened was over, and they quickly moved on. Then Wallace focused on rallying back, finishing the stage in fifth.<\/p>\n
It might seem like a small thing \u2014 recovering stage position \u2014 but it encapsulates just how far the No. 23 team has progressed. Efficiently handling incidents like these proves to be the difference between a driver\/team having playoff success and an early-round elimination.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething we\u2019ve talked about all year is trying to compartmentalize those things, the good and the bad,\u201d Denike said. \u201cAnd know that one moment doesn\u2019t need to define the whole rest of the race; we\u2019ve got to resolve that one little moment and put it behind us and deal with whatever is left in front of us.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarlier today, we went back out 15th, but there\u2019s seven or eight stints left in the race to still go, so we need to go 15th to 12th, get 12th to 10th, and 10th to eighth and just keep working your way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Underscoring Denike\u2019s point, all one had to do was look at the number of playoff teams that failed to fulfill potential at Darlington. None of Hendrick Motorsports\u2019 four drivers finished better than 17th; all of Team Penske\u2019s three cars lacked race-winning speed; and several other drivers\/teams had self-inflicted mistakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cFeels really good,\u201d Denike said. \u201cIt\u2019s good to be disappointed in a sixth when you feel like you\u2019re capable of running better than that all night long. But with so many chances for things to get derailed, and we were able to get through all of them, it feels really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wallace entered the playoffs on the strength of the best regular season of his seven-year career. He has greater confidence in himself, as does the team in him, and now they\u2019re consistently demonstrating a level of resolve they previously lacked. A potent combination that gives reason to think that Wallace may be embarking on a strong playoff run.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere Bubba\u2019s made the biggest gains is understanding that this is a 500-mile race, not a 300 mile and understanding how to get to the finish and optimize his day,\u201d 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin said. \u201cWhen the cards don\u2019t fall your way, you have to figure out how to get the best out of the day. And they did that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Could this new-look Wallace realistically contend for the championship?<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, 100 percent, yeah,\u201d he said after the race. \u201cI think the way we executed and bounced back from our mistakes, no doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n
A sixth-place finish in the first playoff race ensures nothing. There are still two races within the round, then another three-race round after that, and another. All leading to a one-race championship finale.<\/p>\n
However, the Darlington race was a strong start.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t get too far ahead,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cWe\u2019ll focus on (the next race), and we\u2019ll have another flawless day, capitalize on others\u2019 mistakes and see where we end.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Toyotas are fast, so we don\u2019t need to take that away by doing something stupid. So let everything kind of settle in place and have some fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Top photo of Bubba Wallace: Logan Riely \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DARLINGTON, S.C. \u2014 A smiling Bubba Wallace stood on Darlington Raceway\u2019s pit road feeling good following Sunday\u2019s playoff…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":192301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[1833,1406,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-192300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-motorsports","9":"tag-nascar","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115130869081758157","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}