Kyle Petty Boldly Declares Bubba Wallace ‘Will Win Multiple Races’ in 2026

The start of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season was solid for the 23XI Racing duo of Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallae. The No:45 Camry won races at Daytona and Atalanta, earning him P1 in the championship table. The No:23 on the other hand finished top 10 in both races, leading multiple laps and missing out on wins owing to bad luck in the last lap, earning him P2 position in the table.

The performance from Bubba Wallace has impressed many in the garage and that included the likes of former racer Kyle Petty. On his race recap show for NASCAR on YouTube, “Inside the Race”, Richard Petty’s son highlighted how the TRD driver showed proper race control and asserted if not for the poor block of Carson Hocevar at Atalanta, he would’ve already been a race winner.  

He controlled the race from the start. He lost control there on that one block. On that one block, he lost the plot of the race a little bit.

Kyle Petty said via NASCAR: Inside the Race.

Further talking about the point, the veteran highlighted how the 2025 Brickyard 400 win, which was the only victory 23XI Racing scored last year, changed Bubba Wallace and made him more confident. He proved what he is capable of to the community that day and asserted that fans will see more similar runs in 2026, including multiple victory lane visits.

But if you look at it, it’s as good a race as Bubba has driven, maybe since the Brickyard. The Brickyard was a phenomenal race for Bubba Wallace. But that’s the type of races that Bubba can put together, and I believe he will constantly and consistently put together as we go into this year. And we’re going to see him in victory lane multiple times this year.

Kyle Petty added.

Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick need to work hard to meet Denny Hamlin’s goal for 23XI

Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan have big plans for 23XI Racing, as they are looking to be the 4^th team behind the big-3. For that they have to win championships and the impressive start Tyler Reddick had in 2026 shows it is possible. They are working hard behind the scenes according to Hamlin to consistently win races.

It’s too early for that. I mean, we’re many wins and championships away from that. There’s no question that we’re building fast cars and cars that are capable of winning week in, week out. We don’t always hit the setup or things like that, but we’re working hard.

Denny Hamlin said.

Further talking about his plans for the team, the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran pointed out that it’s impressive how his team was able to build such a solid institution with in six years from scratch. They have a lot of work left to do to match the big-3 as they have historical advantage. 23XI is making extra efforts to close that gap.  

This team being nonexistent six years ago is just amazing that we’re able to do what we did with building this thing from scratch and now having the results week in, week out that is contending with the big guys… Yeah, it’s very early, but it’s not by circumstance. They’re running up front. They’re fast. Again, just doing a lot of the right things. We’re making up for lost time.

Denny Hamlin added.

For the teams to achieve these goals, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace needs to step up their game. They have to win more consistently and be in the fight for the championship, under the new format that no longer rewards just clutch runs. It would be interesting to see how everything is going to playout for the team in the coming years.

Also Read: “I Owe Him a Gift Card!” Carson Hocevar Wrecks Joey Logano During Intense Atlanta Battle

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