NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Bubba Wallace: Road course racing 'starting to click' after years of struggles

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jun 13, 2025 9:26 PM ET

One of the most under-the-radar stories in NASCAR over the past two years has been the progression of 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace on road courses.

Wallace, who struggled mightily at road courses through the first several seasons of his Cup Series career, has seen his fortunes begin to turn around at the track type — an encouraging sign going into Sunday's race in Mexico City.

"It's starting to click," Wallace said in a news conference at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Friday. "It takes me back to my rookie year (2018). We were sitting in the drivers meeting at Sonoma. I had qualified next-to-last or something, and Kasey Kahne walks up and says, 'I was in the same boat once, and all of a sudden it just clicked.' I feel like we're in that transition period where it's clicking."

"We're putting in a lot of work, a lot of effort leading up to every road course weekend," Wallace explained. "We're already starting to prep for Chicago, (we've) been prepping for (Mexico City) for the last month and change. I embrace it (road course racing) every time it comes about, because it is a race. There are points on the line. It's a very important weekend."

Wallace's effort to improve on road courses is producing results, including a second-place starting spot at Circuit of the Americas in March and an average finish of 14.8 on road courses in 2024.

"I might suck, but I'm going to give it my all," Wallace said. "I think that's where I would get in trouble before, because I would start trying too hard with no plan. Now, just kind of understanding where to position a car, what to do on five-lap tires versus 20-lap tires is different now. You have all those bullet points built up.

"For me, it's just another opportunity," Wallace said. "It's a fresh set of downs for me to go and capitalize on."

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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