Can Wallace Get Redemption at Michigan?

In 2022 Bubba Wallace scored his first career Busch Light Pole Award at Michigan International Speedway and ended up finishing P. 2 behind race winner Kevin Harvick. 

Credit: BROOKLYN, MICHIGAN - AUGUST 07: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 McDonald's Toyota, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 07, 2022 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

Wallace has been on a roll over the summer weeks here in 2023 scoring stage points and solid finishes to put himself into Playoff contention on points. But points may not do it for the 3rd year 23XI driver as 2 new winners bump him from contention. His 2 best chances at a win are Michigan this upcoming weekend and Daytona 3 weeks later, but between those 2 events, road courses... His Achilles heel. That makes Michigan and Daytona that much more important for Wallace. 

In 2022, Wallace took his Pole and led 22 laps only to finish P. 2 behind Kevin Harvick. If not for a late race restart, Wallace had the speed and the car control to make a run at Harvick for the win. That late race restart saw Wallace fall back some spots to make them back up for second, a better restart and he could have dueled Harvick. 

Since Michigan last season, Wallace has made massive strides in terms of performance and finishes in the Cup Series including 10 Top-10 finishes and a win at Kansas. That also includes 3 Top-5 finishes in a row at Kansas, Darlington and Charlotte earlier this summer. 

So with that said, Wallace now has the confidence on top of having the car, I think Michigan could easily become one of his best races of the year. If not, he has an average finish of 10.2 at Daytona since joining 23XI.

By: Tom Luttermoser