Bubba Wallace did not have a great weekend at Pocono Raceway. The 23XI Racing driver rolled into Pennsylvania with high hopes after a solid practice session, but things went sideways fast. A starter issue kept his #23 Toyota from firing during qualifying, forcing him to start near the back of the 37-car field.
With 400 miles to claw his way forward, Wallace’s day ended early when a brake failure sent him hard into Turn 2’s wall on lap 56. Though he climbed out with his usual upbeat attitude, Wallace admitted Friday at EchoPark Speedway that the crash nearly dragged him back to an old, darker mindset. Now, with the playoff bubble squeezing tight, he’s opened up with raw honesty about his frustrations and the road ahead.
Wallace’s candid take on playoff pressure
Speaking to NASCAR on FOX, Wallace didn’t sugarcoat the sting of Pocono’s fallout, especially with Chase Briscoe’s win shaking up the playoff picture. “Those were in your imaginary Driver’s bracket that you fill at the beginning of the year. Those two guys were already locked in my opinion. Briscoe has been competitive and everything he is able to drive so its competitive and everything. He is able to drive so that was cool to see him get a win although he was behind us some points. It is what it is,” he said.
Briscoe’s fuel-mileage masterclass at Pocono, holding off teammate Denny Hamlin for his first Joe Gibbs Racing win, was a gut punch. Briscoe, who was just 39 points above the playoff cutline after Mexico City, showed nerves of steel over the final 30-plus laps, stretching his fuel to leap from danger to eighth in the playoff standings. He had the speed on the #19 Toyota Camry, which was evident by his pole wins, and it was only a matter of time until he won. But both these wins were sort of expected by Wallace.
Bubba Wallace has seen two drivers behind him in the standings (Chase Briscoe and Shane van Gisbergen) win in the last couple of weeks, putting him on the bubble to make it on points. What Wallace said about those wins and how they impact him: @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/nmKHSk8qcz
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 28, 2025
Wallace also tipped his hat to another playoff shaker, Shane van Gisbergen. “I told Shane 2 weeks before Mexico. I shook his hand congratulated him and if I was a betting man out of one on money but not allowed to do so but those were kind of expected. Yes, we have expected to win at this point in the season. We’ve got do that but it goes back to question earlier about executing just if we can just do our jobs, there’s no one behind us in points,” he shared.
Van Gisbergen, the Kiwi road course ace, dominated the Viva Mexico 250 on June 15, 2025, leading 60 of 100 laps in a rain-soaked race to claim his second Cup Series win. His 16.5-second rout of Christopher Bell at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, guided by tips from F1 champ Max Verstappen, locked him into the playoffs and proved his rookie struggles on ovals were no match for his road course prowess.
The Pocono wreck dropped Wallace from 10th to 12th in points, now just 29 points above the playoff cutline with nine races left. After a string of three straight top 12 finishes before Pocono, the DNF was a brutal setback, his sixth of the season. For a driver who thrives on superspeedways, EchoPark Speedway could be a lifeline. Wallace has two top 10s in his last three Atlanta races, including a ninth this spring.
If he can channel that speed and avoid mechanical gremlins, he might just keep his playoff hopes alive. With 11 winners already in 2025, the bubble’s tighter than ever. He’s banking on execution, knowing a win could flip the script. Atlanta’s high banks and unpredictable drafts might just be his shot to get back on the momentum train.
Kevin Harvick unleashes fury on 23XI’s faltering duo
Kevin Harvick’s voice carries a ton of weight in NASCAR, and he’s not holding back on 23XI Racing’s struggles. The former champ recently lit into Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, calling out their lackluster 2025 seasons and challenging them to step up. Harvick’s frustration zeroes in on the team’s inability to find consistency, putting Wallace and Reddick under a microscope as they fight to keep 23XI’s reputation intact.
The criticism isn’t just about finishes, it’s about deeper issues in 23XI’s setup and strategy. Wallace’s six DNFs, including Pocono’s brake disaster, and Reddick’s slide to 32nd after pitting for brake checks at the same race, have raised eyebrows. Reddick, who was a regular-season champ in 2024, has just five top 10s this year and an average Atlanta finish around 19th. Ideally, one of the three cars should’ve posted a win by now, but they are banking on points to make it to the top 16.
“I don’t think Reddick has been fast. I think Bubba started really well and has been kind of average in a lot of the most recent weeks. To me, the speed part from the 45 car is concerning to me. He’s done a good job with his experience in keeping cars in races and getting finishes out of them, but that overall raw speed, I haven’t seen it from either of them in several weeks,” Harvick shared.
Harvick’s pointed remarks have added a spicy layer to 23XI’s story. With the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway on June 28, 2025, the spotlight’s on Wallace and Reddick to turn things around. Atlanta’s a chance to harness their talent, silence the critics, and show 23XI’s got the fight to compete. The stakes couldn’t be higher, not just for this season, but for the team’s future in NASCAR’s cutthroat world.
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