Why Bubba Wallace still isn’t technically a playoff driver?
While the #45 team can compete for the NASCAR Cup Series owner championship, Bubba Wallace still isn’t technically a playoff driver.
23XI Racing announced on Wednesday that Bubba Wallace, who ordinarily drives the #23 Toyota, is set to drive the #45 Toyota throughout the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Kurt Busch, the full-time driver of the #45 Toyota, has not competed since July, as his qualifying crash at Pocono Raceway left him with concussion-like symptoms.
Despite the fact that he missed the 26-race regular season’s final six races, Busch was still set to be one of the 16 playoff drivers.
He won the race at Kansas Speedway in mid-May, he was locked into the top 30 in the point standings, and he was granted a medical waiver to retain his playoff eligibility despite missing multiple races. Additionally, there weren’t more than 16 different regular season race winners.
NASCAR World Reacts To The Major Bubba Wallace Decision
23XI Racing made a major Bubba Wallace decision earlier this week.
The Michael Jordan-owned NASCAR team announced that Wallace will be switching from the No. 23 car to the No. 45 car for the remainder of the season.
23XI Racing is still in contention for the ownership championship, so Wallace is switching over.
Bubba Wallace Fared Better Than a Cup Series Playoff Driver in a Controversial Trade
The regular season was two-thirds complete when news broke about a change with big implications: Christopher Bell, winless but on the good side of the playoff cut line, was trading some crew members with Bubba Wallace, buried deep in the standings.
They drive for Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI racing, respectively, but JGR trains and assigns the crews for all six Toyotas on the two teams. The swap was seen as hurting a JGR driver to appease Wallace, who was vocal in his criticism of the No. 23 team’s pit performance.
Two months later, the playoffs began at Darlington with Bell in the field of 16 and Wallace racing for personal pride, owner points, and sponsor commitments.
Who is Bubba Wallace
William Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver.
(born October 8, 1993)
He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Wallace has managed nearly identical average start and average finish (around 24.0) marks for both campaigns, and he’s finished 28th-place in the driver points both seasons.
(born October 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No.
