Bubba Wallace looking to keep upward trajectory going in 2026

There's reason to think that Bubba Wallace might be a dark horse contender for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship. 

Wallace, who is entering his ninth Cup Series season and his sixth with 23XI Racing, is coming off a 2025 campaign that saw him win a crown jewel race in the Brickyard 400 and tie career-highs in top-five finishes (six) and top-10 finishes (14). 

Wallace will also be driving for an organization in 23XI that no longer has the cloud of ongoing litigation hanging over its head, and working with a crew chief in Charles Denike that he has a year's worth of chemistry with. 

Bubba Wallace could have breakout year in 2026

Since joining 23XI in 2021, Wallace has seen his career steadily take an upward turn. 

He scored his first career win in 2021, earned 10 top-10 finishes in 2022, made the Cup Series playoffs for the first time in 2023, finished top-10 a career-high 14 times in 2024 and got back to the postseason with his Brickyard 400 win in 2025. 

If the trend continues, Wallace is in for a career year in 2026. The 32-year-old from Mobile, Ala., has momentum on his side and will likely have fast cars under him — a scary combination for his competition. 

Wallace may not have proven himself to be a perennial title threat yet, but he is becoming a more consistent figure at the front of the field, and that can only lead to good things.