“Unfortunate!” Bubba Wallace Sulks Over Costly Atlanta Mistake and Credit Rajah Caruth for Strong Race

23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace shared his disappointment on losing the second straight race to his teammate despite having a fast car.

“Unfortunate!” Bubba Wallace Sulks Over Costly Atlanta Mistake and Credit Rajah Caruth for Strong Race

Rajah Caruth and Bubba Wallace (Via nbcwashington.com)

In Short
  • Bubba Wallace finished P2 in stage one and won stage two but missed out on victory due to a late-race mistake.
  • He credited Rajah Caruth for his strong performance and expressed disappointment over not securing the win.
  • Tyler Reddick's victory highlighted the importance of clutch moments, which Wallace aims to improve on in future races.

The 23XI Racing team is over the moon for the second straight week, after Tyler Reddick’s masterclass run in the final restart earned him the victory. At the same time, the No:23 garage and Bubba Wallace are heartbroken, as just like in the Daytona 500 weekend they had a dominant day only to miss out on the win at end.

Bubba Wallace had a string day, as scored P2 in stage one and secured stage two win, finding himself in the lead for the final restarts just two laps away from his first win of season. But an attempt to block Carson Hocevar on the outside lane saw him move up too much, getting trapped in the lane while the drivers in the inside got space and push get upfront. He was happy with TRD win, but disappointed as well on his post-race interview.

I’m just pumped that Toyota still got to victory lane. Need to go back and see, I didn’t think I moved up that much to allow; to put myself up top of three. So, unfortunate, but man what a racecar we had today.

Bubba Wallace said post-race to Fox Sports.

Later in the same interview, Bubba Wallace credited Hendrick Motorsports’ Rajah Caruth for his strong run on Sunday. The youngster had a solid day in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, as the younger was able to control his car, survive multiple wrecks with a mad fast car to secure a good finish. Going into next week at COTA, the veteran will be hoping to not make such mistakes again.

You know who I learned a lot from was Rajah (Caruth) yesterday. He had a mad fast car and he finished second in his first stage and won the second stage, just like me, and I was like, ‘This car is so fast. Don’t do anything to jeopardize a good finish.’ I hate that we didn’t get the win, but all in all appreciate Xfinity. What could have been. On to COTA, pray for me there. We’ll have some fun.

Bubba Wallace added.

Tyler Reddick’s words reveal the fulfilling moment Bubba Wallace missed out on at Atlanta

On his post-race press conference veteran Tyler Reddick explained what it means to wins races for Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, something Wallace missed out on. He pointed out that it’s really fulfilling to win races for an ownership group that trust and invest in its drivers a lot.

Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace
Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace (Via IMAGO)

It’s very fulfilling. These are the kind of things that I wanted to deliver to Michael, to Denny, to Curtis (Polk), to the entire ownership group.

Tyler Reddick said on his press conference.

The two times second division champion also highlighted how his win was similar to Daytona 500, where he peaked at the most clutch moment to win the race. Reddick cherishes these moments and wins with 23XI Racing a lot.

Yeah, we didn’t dominate the race today by any means, but in the clutch moments on the final lap, we found a way to deliver. So, for me, I’m very thankful to be in this position, to have the trust of people like Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin, to be able to drive the 45, and in these situations deliver.

Tyler Reddick added.

These clutch runs are something Bubba Wallace needs to adopt from his teammate, as in the last weekend he has already proved how good he can be with a fast car. If he can get the clutch aspect in his control, success is guaranteed for him.

Also Read: Michael Jordan Declares Tyler Reddick “Did an Unbelievable Job” After Atlanta Triumph