The Darlington Stripe – NASCAR’s most notorious battle scar – has long been a baptism for drivers seeking to prove their worth. When you think Darlington, your mind goes back to iconic finishes, like Ned Jarrett winning 14 laps ahead of competitors or Carl Edwards doing his iconic backflip. Well, the track will be the testing ground for another driver this year, Bubba Wallace.
In 2025, Wallace finds himself running stronger than ever, sitting 8th in points with career-best metrics across the board – a remarkable transformation for a driver who once questioned if he belonged among NASCAR’s elite.
As Bubba Wallace reflects on his five-year journey with 23XI Racing, his career bears similar markings: the scrapes against adversity, the scuffs of self-doubt, and finally, the polish of redemption.
“It was like starting over again almost,” Wallace candidly shared about his transition to 23XI Racing. The challenge wasn’t just technical – it was psychological. Coming from Richard Petty Motorsports, where competitive opportunities were limited to “four shots to win a race,” Wallace had unconsciously adapted to survival mode rather than championship thinking. “I felt like it was a lateral move, but it was more so me not understanding the full potential of our team, our people, our race cars and just the opportunity that I had,” Wallace admitted. The numbers tell the story: when he first joined 23XI in 2021, performance gains were incremental rather than transformative.
What changed? Wallace points to a fundamental shift in mindset. “I wouldn’t be mentioning these words six years ago,” he explained, referencing technical concepts like loading tires “longitudinally versus laterally.” The 2025 statistics validate this evolution – Wallace currently boasts career-best marks in average start (10.7), average running position (11.1), and share of laps led (5.4%), ranking fifth among all drivers with 72.2% of laps run in the top 15.
DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 31: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 U.S. Air Force Toyota, looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on August 31, 2024 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Most telling is Wallace’s Driver Rating improvement across different track types. At superspeedways, he’s maintained his traditionally strong performance, but his greatest gains have come at intermediate tracks and even road courses – historically his weakest venue. The breakthrough at Homestead with a 118.7 Driver Rating showcased a driver finally in control of his destiny. “In Miami, I was in control the whole race and there’s the speed,” Wallace reflected. “Now we’re trying to figure out how do we show up with that capability. It could be a 10th place car, but I’m in control. Let me figure it out from there.” He further continued, “Before, it was just showing up and racing my heart out,” Wallace reflected on his earlier career approach. “I remember those days when it was just showing up and driving the absolute hardest that you could instead of understanding now like ‘let the little fish go, catch the big fish later’ type mentality.”
This maturation mirrors the journey of NASCAR legends like Dale Earnhardt, who famously evolved from ‘Ironhead’ to ‘The Intimidator’ as he learned to balance aggression with calculation. “I remember coming here, I think it was in the 43 and I finished 11th and I passed you. I don’t know how I didn’t crash into you and just move you out of the way like you would see a rookie do, because that’s the mentality I had.” Wallace’s journey to competitive relevance hasn’t been straightforward. After making history with his first Cup Series win at Talladega in 2021 – becoming the first African-American driver to win a Cup race since Wendell Scott in 1963 – Wallace followed with a second victory at Kansas in 2022.
His boss at 23XI, Denny Hamlin, had some words of advice for him. “They’ll be able to access where his deficits were compared to me and break that down. At that point, he has a decision to make. If I need to make more speed on corner exit, I have to sacrifice something else somewhere. You can’t just put the throttle down and get more speed on exit. It’s an approach thing. Maybe you need to slow up your center a little bit more. Maybe things like that.”
If Wallace continues his streak of performances after Martinsville and Homestead-Miami, a win isn’t far off. And supporting him in this journey is his pit crew.
Bubba Wallace’s Pit Stop Revolution: The Secret Behind 23XI Racing’s Surge
The recent pair of podium finishes achieved by Bubba Wallace demonstrates remarkable development within the 23XI Racing organization. During Homestead-Miami, Bubba Wallace ran in first place for 56 laps before finishing third, while at Martinsville, he repeated the podium result to surpass both Hendrick Motorsports drivers Elliott and Larson. Wallace continues to achieve his best career placement in the Cup Series 8th position because of his consistent track performance.
Behind Wallace’s success lies a revolutionary pit crew approach that’s redefining NASCAR standards. The crew recently shattered previous benchmarks with an unprecedented 8.22-second pit stop, dramatically improving on the 8.86-second record set years earlier.
Even Denny Hamlin saw the difference that bringing in a new crew chief has made for the No. 23 team. “We believe we found rock star in Charles. Glad we found him, [23XI performance director] Dave Rogers did a great job recruiting him from the Truck Series. He was with the 19 truck and so, I think he’s gonna be a gamechanger for 23XI and Bubba Wallace. I think that those two can really do something special this year. We’ve crossed paths but that’s it. He’s [Denike] coming in fresh. He was with a Chevy Truck team now going to a Toyota Cup team, so literally it couldn’t be a bigger transition for him. From what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, he’s doing a fantastic job.”
While Wallace’s driving skills remain central to his success, the innovative pit crew techniques have provided him the track position necessary to showcase his talents. As NASCAR potentially contemplates standardizing jack equipment in the future, Wallace’s team is maximizing their current opportunity to capitalize on this technical advantage while it remains within their control.
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