Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Bubba Wallace, Martin Truex Jr., others report radio issues at Talladega

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated 4/21/24

Things are just starting to heat up at Talladega but drivers like Bubba Wallace and Martin Truex Jr. are having radio issues. Talladega is the last place a NASCAR driver wants to have trouble communicating with your crew and spotter.

The main issue is just not being able to hear each other. Teams are having to deal with these issues and keep their driver from making a bad move in the draft. A ton of three-wide racing, albeit among fuel-saving measures.

To put it simply, the team of Truex Jr. said, “All our radios are f***ed up right now.”

Bubba Wallace and Martin Truex Jr. are dealing with it fine for the most part. But Joey Logano served a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road that was in part caused by the poor communication.

"All of our radios are f***ed up right now," No. 19 team tells Martin Truex Jr. They will be switching to a second channel during this caution.
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) April 21, 2024

Early on in this race, there has been fuel saving. Drivers are not fully 100% on the gas, but sticking to about 60%. That has allowed a few drivers to be able to move to the front and lead that we normally don’t see out front leading.

BJ McLeod and Justin Haley both took to the front of this race. There were moments when Bubba Wallace was in front, no surprise at Talladega. By the end of the first stage, it was down to Austin Cindric and Chase Elliott. The green flag pit stops spread the field out again and gave us two different groups on the track. It also led to Denny Hamlin sliding onto pit road.

Bubba Wallace, other drivers figuring out fuel

While BJ McLeod made it to the front of the field, he did run out of gas, also. The part-time driver looked great with a ton of speed early on in this race. He just didn’t know where his fuel was going to end, at least not like the bigger teams.

Amazing, McLeod avoided wrecking the field as he pulled out of line and slowed way down. It’s shaping up to be a regular Talladega race. Then again, Dega doesn’t do regular. We are going to continue to see drivers be a little cautious until they decide it’s no longer worth doing.

Bubba Wallace has moved up and back through the field. He definitely seems to be fine with letting things play out. Let the other drivers take risks early on. If you can be at the end of the race with a few laps to go, that’s when the moves have to be made.

There is a lot more that will happen between now and the checkered flag. What surprises await fans and drivers as the racing heats up and drivers get antsy for track position?

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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