NASCAR News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

Bubba Wallace explains what he needs to do to advance in playoffs despite being below cutoff

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Dustin Schutte | Last updated 9/16/23

Bubba Wallace enters the final race of the Round of 16 behind the 8-ball. He currently sits at 14th in the points standings, needing to climb up at least two spots to advance to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Wallace — who has yet to win a race in 2023 — ran strong at Darlington, finishing seventh. Last week was a tough day at Kansas, ending the race in 32nd. So, what’s it going to take for the driver to get to the next round of NASCAR’s playoffs?

“We just gotta have a good, clean day. I think fifth, fifth, fifth (stage finishes) is 40 points and, historically, you need 38. We mapped it out,” Wallace said. “So, we just gotta execute, you know? Can’t get caught up in looking at the finishing results already. … We know it’s gonna be a track position race and we just have to manage our race the best we can.

“Looking at last year’s stuff, we were OK. We were running fourth I think when we had power steering problems. But, yeah, we just gotta do our own thing and have a good, clean day.”

Bubba Wallace is 19 points below the cutoff and says the 23XI Racing analytics people say if he finishes fifth in each stage and fifth in the race, history says he should have enough points to advance. Speaking before practice Friday, he felt that was doable. pic.twitter.com/opYF59d1hA
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 16, 2023

Saturday night would be a great time for Wallace to record his first win of the 2023 season. But, as he said, if he runs a good, clean race, he’ll at least give himself a shot to advance to the Round of 12.

Wallace has finished inside the top-10 seven times this season, along with four inside the top-five. The Cup Series race from Bristol is the final event in the Round of 16.

Saturday’s night race from Bristol is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET. Coverage airs on USA Network.

NASCAR Cup Series standings entering Bristol

With just one race remaining until the the NASCAR Cup Series advances to the Round of 12, there’s a lot of intensity heading into Saturday’s night race at Bristol. What better place for some chaos, right?

Here’s a look at the top-16 as we prepare for this weekend’s exciting race: