Bubba Wallace’s Spotter Wanted to ‘Smack the S*’ out of the 23XI Racing Driver at Darlington

Bubba Wallace's spotter Freddie Kraft recalled the moments when he simply wanted to 'smack the s**t' out of the former at Darlington.

Bubba Wallace’s Spotter Wanted to ‘Smack the S*’ out of the 23XI Racing Driver at Darlington

Bubba Wallace (via Getty)

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Bubba Wallace put forth one of his better performances of the 2025 season at the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington. Wallace began the race weekend on a high note as he achieved a coveted pole position race start for the main event.

However, mid-way through the race, the 23XI Racing star suffered from a botched pit-stop and lost crucial track positions. Despite a seemingly consistent performance, his spotter, Freddie Kraft, recalled the moments when he wanted to lash out at the #23 driver.

Following the mid-race shenanigans and a spin-out on the track, Bubba Wallace managed to finish P6 and score some good points over the weekend. However, Freddie Kraft wasn’t too impressed by Wallace’s impressive finish despite enduring some challenging conditions. Kraft recalled that there were more than one event when he wanted to simply ‘smack the s**t’ out of the 31-year-old.

Freddie Kraft recalled the first moment when he felt a massive surge of anger growing against Bubba Wallace. Kraft pointed out that he was informing Wallace about his race pace and the rivals who were running around him. To this, the 31-year-old responded nonchalantly and claimed that he was cruising easily on track.

Immediately, Wallace went on to lose control of his car and spin out, sending his car into the barriers at Turn 1 and Turn 2. This caused Kraft to lose his temper for a few moments and respond sarcastically to the #23 driver’s claims of cruising with ease on track.

There was twice yesterday I really wanted to smack the shit out of him, I said something about what’s going on around us, like pace wise and who’s running where and what not. He says, ‘I’m good. I’m just riding here.’ Literally goes in [Turns] 1 and 2 the next corner and f*cking smokes the wall. I’m like, ‘OK, great. Perfect.

Freddie Kraft said on the Door Bumper Clear podcast.

And the second surge of anger for Freddie Kraft came when John Hunter Nemechek was dive-bombing Bubba Wallace and trying to hit his rear quarter. Kraft immediately informed Wallace of the impending threat from Nemechek, to which he had a nonchalant response again. This again caused the spotter to lose his temper and want to lash out at the 31-year-old.

And then another time, John Hunter [Nemechek] was bonziing the bottom just trying to get to our left rear quarter, and I said, ’42 is just bonziing. He’s getting about half back of the center.’ He says, ‘I’m not worried about him,’ and I said, ‘Inside off of 2.’

Freddie Kraft added.

Freddie Kraft applauds Bubba Wallace’s ‘well execution’ at Darlington

Bubba Wallace led the race for over ten laps before the pit stop mishap and lost track position. Still, Wallace walked out of the weekend with ten points scored to his name as he now has a 23-point cushion heading into the next round. As such, Freddie Kraft applauded the 31-year-old’s well-executed execution on track despite the shenanigans.

Bubba Wallace
Bubba Wallace (Via Motorcyclesports.net)

Freddie Kraft pointed out that Bubba Wallace and Co. had the fourth-best points over the Darlington weekend, as they are currently in a great spot moving forward. Kraft reckoned that Wallace still cannot commit any errors in the upcoming races, as even one poor race could remove him from the championship contention. Regardless, the 31-year-old made all the difference on the track and put forth a great execution.

I think we had fourth-best points, I think we’re +25 over the cutline. That’s put us in a good spot moving forward. Obviously, you can’t have any issues. We were talking about Bubba’s been saying just base hits gets us through this round, so we don’t need any home runs. … It was a really good night. We executed really well.

Freddie Kraft added.

The championship-4 is still many races away, as Bubba Wallace has a lot of work pending in order to emerge victorious. Wallace has a great cushion for now and can relax before the upcoming race at Illinois. Still, the 23XI Racing crew will have to work hard amid their ongoing legal battle with NASCAR and ensure that they provide the best possible equipment to the #23 driver.

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