Bubba Wallace Gets 2nd Career Win at Kansas

On year ago, in October 2021, Bubba Wallace wheeled his No 23 McDonald’s Toyota at Talladega and took the lead in time for the weather to come in, giving him his first career Cup Series victory. On May 15, 2022, his teammate, Kurt Busch, held off his brother Kyle Busch to win, giving the No. 45 team their first win. Fast Forward to September 11, 2022, and Bubba Wallace drove the No. 45 Toyota back to Victory Lane in Kansas. Bubba is driving for the No. 45 for the playoffs, or until Kurt Busch returns from his injury, due to that team competing for the Owners Playoffs, as Ty Gibbs continues to sub for Kurt in the No. 23. For the second week in a row, a non-playoff driver became a spoiler to the rest of the competition, with Erik Jones winning last week at Darlington.

“Man, just so proud of this team. So proud of the effort they put in each and every week,” Wallace said after climbing out of his car and celebrating with the fans. “Just thankful for the opportunity, right? I took this jump from an idea two years ago from a text from Denny (Hamlin). Before it all even happened, he was ready to get the deal done- appreciate him…”

“The men and women there work their tails off- just so proud, pit crew was awesome today, we had one loose wheel. Just thankful for the opportunity. And thank to shut the hell up for a lot of people.”

In the last 10 races, Wallace has finished outside the top 14 just once — and that run includes four top-five finishes, six top 10s, and, of course, Sunday’s win at Kansas. Wallace was hit with many issues involving mistakes on pit road that cost him many opportunities to make the playoffs. With this win and recent performances, however, Wallace can certainly be a threat to make the 2023 Playoffs.

“We’re really trying to instill a really positive, one-team mentality,” said Denny Hamlin, sitting alongside Wallace post-race in a joint press conference. “So by doing that and having an eligibility in the owners’ championship, we’re able to just pick apart and put our best pieces in each section of a race team to go out and compete at our best.

“Bubba Wallace was an easy choice for us. Especially the results that he has given us over the last two to three months.”

Denny Hamlin tried to chase his own driver down in the closing laps but ended up settling for a runner-up finish.

“Really happy for our 11 Toyota team. They fought hard. They really stepped up that last half. We made the car quite a bit better. Just really happy about the outcome and really happy for that 45 team and Bubba Wallace and (crew chief) Bootie (Barker). Bubba has just really worked hard on his craft, and we’ve just given him fast race cars, and now he is showing what he has got.”

Christopher Bell finished third and is the first driver to lock himself into the Playoffs‘ Round of 12 on points. The other fifteen drivers will have to battle it out at the Last Great Coliseum, known as Bristol Motor Speedway, for the 11 remaining spots. For one playoff driver, he will have to head into Bristol in a must-win situation thanks to a last-place finish, that being Kevin Harvick.

Harvick‘s Mustang snapped loose and the right front of his car, slamming the outside wall. With damage too severe to repair, Harvick retired from the race in last (36th) place.

“When those two cars came up in front of me, I just got super tight,” Harvick said after a visit to the infield care center. “When I lifted, it grabbed and got loose. I just wasn‘t expecting them to come up and my car getting that tight.”

“Yeah, it is what it is,” Harvick said. “We were racing to win anyway today, so that‘s what we will do again next week.”

Alex Bowman and Martin Truex Jr finished 4th and 5th, while William Byron, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, and Daniel Suarez finished out the top 10. The Cup Series heads next for the elimination race in the Round of 16 at Bristol. The race will take place Saturday, September 17 at 7:30 PM EST on USA/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR.