'Good, clean day' at Darlington bumps Bubba Wallace to 10th in NASCAR standings

Bubba Wallace put together what he called a "good, clean day" in Sunday's Southern 500 at Darlington, leading 38 laps, collecting 15 stage points and finishing eighth to kick off the Chase in style. 

Wallace shot from 14th to 10th in the standings and is 81 points back of leader Denny Hamlin going into the Sept. 13 race at Gateway, a track he finished eighth at a year ago.

Bubba Wallace's thoughts on the Southern 500 run

"Pleased with how our Xfinity Toyota Camry was in the daytime," Wallace told USA Network. "In the nighttime, we just got too tight and we were just okay. I hate that we gave up a little bit of pace there in the end, but all in all, to come out of here with a solid effort, good points day. It was fun running up front with Tyler [Reddick]. Good day for 23XI. Great day at Darlington. That was a long one."

Wallace took the lead from Reddick in Stage 2 after pitting one lap sooner than his teammate, though he faded to fifth at the end of the stage after driving to second in Stage 1. 

"Long way to go," Wallace said. "We know what we're capable of when we can have clean races like tonight. It's easier to work on cars and give feedback when we're having green races and clean races."

Wallace came into the weekend wanting to use the Chase as an opportunity to change the narrative around him and his No. 23 team. Sunday night was a good start.