Bubba Wallace 'tired' after Nashville crash extends slump

Racing driver Bubba Wallace (23) car sits in the garage after a crash during the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Bubba Wallace 'tired' after Nashville crash extends slump, puts him on Chase bubble

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jun 1, 2026 6:32 PM ET

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Bubba Wallace finds himself in a familiar position as NASCAR's summer stretch begins: firmly on the postseason bubble and in for a dogfight.

That's not necessarily the fault of the 32-year-old driver from Mobile, Ala., or his No. 23 23XI Racing team. Wallace, who has made the NASCAR Cup Series postseason twice in the last three years, has four finishes of 22nd or worse over the last five races and has fallen from seventh to 15th in the Cup Series standings over that span.

Wallace was involved in the "Big One" at Talladega, finished 29th at Watkins Glen after being spun late in the race by John Hunter Nemechek, finished 22nd at Charlotte after early contact forced him into the wall and finished 32nd on Sunday evening at Nashville after he was once again an innocent bystander in a crash that saw him lose brakes and collect Alex Bowman.

That series of unfortunate events now has Wallace sitting only 34 points above the Chase cut line with 12 races left in the regular season and left the ninth-year driver clearly dejected after Sunday's crash.

There's more trouble! @BubbaWallace slides down the race track and collides with @Alex_Bowman. pic.twitter.com/NR36ErUeZH
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 1, 2026

Bubba Wallace "tired" after Nashville crash

"Another week our team doesn't get the finish they deserve," Wallace said. "I'm tired, man. It's hard to be in the same boat constantly every week. You got to figure out how to put it behind you and show up. It's really hard when you are driving your best and trying to just make progress throughout the race and you get wiped out."

Wallace finished sixth in Stage 1 and 20th in Stage 2 before the crash knocked him out of Sunday's event.

Wallace has, however, been in this scenario before and been on the end of both making and missing the postseason. He squeaked into the playoffs in 2023, missed them in 2024 after a rash of new winners late in the regular season and won the 2025 Brickyard 400 to secure a spot.

But this season, wins no longer lock drivers into the Chase for the championship, putting more pressure on every race. Stretches of poor results add up, just as they have for Wallace and the No. 23 team.

Wallace's hot start to the season and the speed his team is bringing to the racetrack prove that the No. 23 group is Chase-capable. But whether or not they can avoid bad luck and execute well enough to be in the title hunt come September is a mystery.

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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