For the second time in two races, Bubba Wallace fell just short.
As the Autotrader 400 went into overtime, Wallace led the race. But he moved to the outside lane to try and cut off opposing drivers, and left too much space on the inside. His mistake allowed others to go through, and his 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick, ultimately, achieved victory.
“I didn’t think I moved up that much to allow — to put myself up top,” Wallace said. “Unfortunate, but what a race car we had today.”
Despite not grabbing the checkered flag or earning a spot on the podium, Wallace won the second stage of Sunday’s race and led for a total of 46 laps. He commended the speed of his Toyota, and the floor that car gave him. He learned how to handle that speed after speaking with Rajah Caruth, an O’Reilly Auto Parts competitor.
“This car is so fast, don’t do anything to jeopardize a good finish,” Wallace said Caruth told him.
Wallace followed through, finishing respectably in eighth place.
“I hate that we didn’t get the win,” Wallace said. “But I’m just pumped that Toyota still got to victory lane.”
After Sunday’s race, Wallace sits in second place in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Standings with 85 points, 40 points back of his teammate, Reddick.
