A couple of weeks ago, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson had another rehash of their old rivalry that goes back at least a couple of years. In the NASCAR Busch Light Clash, it’s move or be moved.
Bubba Wallace used his bumper to move up through the field at times. Larson ended up getting the raw end of the deal about three times from the 23 car. So, when it came to it, Larson put the bumper to him and sent Wallace spinning on the last lap.
While it looked like this might carry over into this week or even beyond, Bubba says, not so fast. Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports asked the 23XI Racing driver if he was mad about the Clash. to his credit, Wallace has shaken it off.
“No. I deserved – getting dumped? That’s BS,” Wallace said. “I moved Larson. I wrecked Ty, I moved Larson into Ty. So, there you have that. Then, yeah, I moved Larson again. I had it coming and I just didn’t do a good job of keeping him behind me. So, that was that. I was quickly over it. After we talked with the team I was like, that’s chaos and I guess that’s what they want.
I think before that it was going well. Bowan got into Reddick, got me around. I think that changed the mentality a little bit, but no I wasn’t mad.”
This week, Bubba Wallace has a good shot at winning the Daytona 500. He is a skilled superspeedway race, however, there are times he gets too aggressive out there. Maybe he got that aggression out this year at the LA Coliseum.
Two runner-up finishes in the Great American Race, Wallace is ready to break through and hoist the Harley J. Earl trophy.
Bubba Wallace doesn’t want to be runner-up again
Out of all of the races in NASCAR, the Daytona 500 is probably the wort one to finish P2 at. It means you were so close to glory and history but so far away still. For Bubba Wallace, it’s been twice now that he has been the bridesmaid at Daytona.
While Wallace has honed his skills on short tracks and intermediate tracks, he will be known for his superspeedway racing unless something major changes. It is where he flourishes. On those big tracks, especially when there are a few restarts, Wallace can pass and make moves others can’t.
Of course, we can go back to Talladega last April and see what not to do. Wallace was up front leading on the last lap when he made not one, not two, but three block attempts on Ryan Blaney. The two wrecked out and Kyle Busch went on to win the GEICO 500.
If Bubba Wallace can stay within himself, he should be able to have a solid race this Sunday. Still, there are the Duels to get through. He will have to figure out this new Toyota body and how it moves in the wind. But is this his year to start the season with a win?
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