Bubba Wallace displayed his best performance of the season on the 0.526-mile short track with an impressive P4 finish. Among the Toyotas, the #23 car emerged as the only challenger to HMS’ podium finish in Virginia. However, adding an element of surprise, Bubba had some sarcastic yet respectful feelings towards the dominance claimed by William Byron and co. on Sunday.
Bubba Wallace emerged as a spoiler in HMS domination at Martinsville… almost
The 23XI driver qualified in P2 and finished second in both stages and then finished at P4. Teammate Tyler Reddick was the only other Toyota driver in the top 10. Although co-owner Denny Hamlin overtook the #23 with his #11 JGR Toyota in Stage 2 to earn some much-needed stage points, Bubba looked destined to join either Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, or race-winner Byron on the podium in the final laps.
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But some late-race ‘mayhem’ by John Hunter Nemechek and the right front tire of his #42 LMC Camry XSE sent the race into overtime. The late-race restart ended all top-3 hopes for Bubba and when speaking to Adam Weaver of FOX after the race, he had some encouraging words, and interesting ones, for all fans to hear.
He said, “I was actually surprised at how good we restarted. Freddie (Kraft) did a really good job of telling me where the runs were and it was all about being disciplined so I actually learned that when we’re running six just be under the tire and stay next to the curb and that’s what paid off. So I tried to get Chase. I tried to break up their damn 40th anniversary top three, but that didn’t happen. So all in all congrats to the 24. Yeah, it was a good day for us man. Nothing to hang our heads about, just got to go on and be better.”
Chevrolets might have swept the last race, however, as the president of Toyota Racing Development emphasized earlier last week, the future could very well be indicative of a kill switch for Chevrolet’s fortunes.
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P4 finish hints at Toyota’s resurgence
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Bubba Wallace’s first full-time season in NASCAR’s premier National Series came with Richard Petty Motorsports and the #43 Chevrolet in 2018. The following year in 2019, Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch were the last to give a Toyota-backed team a championship. Interestingly, with three victories for the Japanese manufacturers and JGR (again) out of eight races in 2024, this is Toyota’s best start yet since Busch’s glorious season.
The president of TRD sounded hopeful of a change in fortunes when he told SiriusXM’s NASCAR radio insightfully: “A Toyota has lead laps in all seven NASCAR Cup races thus far. We have strong cars across the board.” From JGR to 23XI Racing, and Legacy Motor Club, the Camrys have certainly looked strong so far this season.
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However, with Chevrolet now leading the wins column with four race wins, the NASCAR season arrives in Texas next week with some drama and new speculations.
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