Bubba Wallace Speaks After Wildly Tame Talladega: ‘Waiting For a Big Wreck’

Talladega was a surprisingly clean race compared to its usual chaotic finishes. Bubba Wallace had mixed feelings following the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500, but came away with a top 10 result, finishing P8, despite expecting an opportunity for something better.

“I don’t really know what to think as I think we were all waiting for a big wreck there at the end and it never happened,” Wallace said following Sunday’s race.

“We ended up 10th, so that’s a good day for us. We didn’t need a new winner, but congrats to Austin [Cindric]. All-in-all, our Leidos Toyota Camry was pretty solid today.

“Was nice not having to riding around, running half throttle and save fuel. We did at times, but not as much. Clean race and now, onto Texas.”

The race was unusual in the fact it featured predominantly green-flagged racing throughout. Talladega Speedway is usually known for its multi-car pileups, but last weekend it delivered a relatively clean race with only four cautions.

Despite Wallace being rather modest about his performance, starting 20th, he made good progress up the pack during the race. He made the top 5 within the first 25 laps of the race. He even won Stage 2, finishing ahead of Team Penske’s Joey Logano, something he later posted about on X.

“Big AC fan in stage 2… don’t listen to the naysayers, you were perfect!” he posted in response to Cindric’s celebratory post.

With Talladega now in the rear view, NASCAR turns its focus to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. Wallace will hope to continue his momentum into Texas, hoping that a win after a streak of 89 races without seeing victory.