Bubba Wallace's third-place finish puts him in a spot he's never been six races into Cup season
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — It would have been easy to have been frustrated, but Bubba Wallace looked at his third-place finish Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway in a different manner.
Although he lost the lead with 33 laps to go, Wallace was philosophical on pit road afterward.
“Kansas (in 2022) I went up and took that win, my last one,” Wallace said of his Cup victory 85 races ago. “I look at Talladega (in April 2023) … when I was leading taking the white and blocked (Ryan) Blaney and wrecked. Other than that, I’ve never been in a spot to give away a race. I could be pissed off about it, but I’ve never been in this situation before.”
Wallace’s season-best finish also has him in a position he’s never been six races into a season. Wallace left Homestead on Sunday night seventh in the points. He’s never been better than 18th at this time of the season since moving to Cup full-time in 2018.
“One of our big goals was just get through five races without being at a deficit in points, without putting ourselves in a position where we have to change the way we want to operate on a weekly basis,” said crew chief Charles Denike, who joined the team ahead of this season.
Wallace has had to scramble in past years because of his slow starts. He’s only made the playoffs once and didn’t clinch that spot until the regular-season finale at Daytona in 2023.
While 20 races remain in the regular season, Wallace's car has shown the speed to expect him to make the playoffs this year. He is one of two drivers in the top seven in points who were not in the top 10 at this time last year. The other is Alex Bowman, who passed Wallace for the lead Sunday only to relinquish it with seven laps to go to Kyle Larson.
“I messed up and Bowman messed up the same way I did and gave it to (Larson),” Wallace said.
Still, Wallace could commiserate with Bowman in a joking manner after the race.
“I walked up to Bowman after and I said, ‘We both suck,’” Wallace said, laughing as he recounted the moment. “It is what it is. All in a good day.”
One of the keys for Wallace this season has been stage points. Wallace scored six Sunday, giving him 61 stage points out of his 166 total points. That’s 36.7% of his total points coming from stage points.
Those stage points have been valuable because a brake failure led to a 29th-place finish at Phoenix, and he was collected in a crash at Las Vegas, leading to a 28th-place finish.
Denike noted that the team hasn’t deliberately gone for stage points except at Circuit of the Americas. There, Denike kept Wallace out while others pitted and Wallace won the first stage.
The point is Wallace is earning those stage points based on the car’s performance instead of strategy.
The fact that Wallace was strong all day at Homestead — he ranked second in average running position at 5.9 — helped ease any frustration with not winning.
“We know we can do it,” said Wallace, who led 56 laps Sunday. “ … Today, we had to fight for it. We fired off just OK. I said, ‘Hey, I want clean air. I want good track position’ and my pit crew is solid. They got us up there, gave me a shot and had a good restart. Then it was game on from there. So just a really good weekend down here.”
Topics
-
What to watch for in today's NASCAR Cup race at Homestead
Ryan Blaney has finished second in each of the last two Cup races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.Yahoo Sports - 2d -
Kyle Larson wins Cup Series at Homestead, finishes one race shy of triple-header sweep
Kyle Larson passed Alex Bowman with six laps remaining in NASCAR's Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, giving the Hendrick Motorsports driver the 30th win of his career at one of ...Yahoo Sports - 1d -
NASCAR takeaways: Josh Berry loves Las Vegas! He ends Christopher Bell's win streak
The NASCAR Cup Series has now completed five of its 26 regular-season races. This coming week, it returns to Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway.Yahoo Sports - Mar. 16 -
NASCAR Saturday schedule at Homestead-Miami Speedway
A busy day of practice, qualifying and racing for the Cup and Xfinity series at the 1.5-mile oval.Yahoo Sports - 3d -
Good news, bad news for NASCAR Cup teams ahead of Homestead weekend
The last time the NASCAR Cup Series raced at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Tyler Reddick went from third to first on the final lap to win last fall’s playoff race.Yahoo Sports - 6d -
Homestead-Miami Speedway weekend schedule, TV info for NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Trucks
All three national series return for the second consecutive 1.5-mile race weekend this season.Yahoo Sports - 5d -
NASCAR takeaways: Kyle Larson avoids more Homestead-Miami heartbreak
Kyle Larson won the Straight Talk Wireless 400 Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He finished ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman.Yahoo Sports - 1d -
NASCAR qualifying results: Starting lineup set for Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami
Qualifying is over at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and the starting lineup is set for Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 400. Alex Bowman won the pole.Yahoo Sports - 3d -
Former NOHS pitcher Bubba Chandler brings the heat for the Pirates. Watch his 100 MPH pitch
Bubba Chandler was a standout pitcher for North Oconee, and now he's the Pirates' top prospect. Last week he lit up the radar during spring training.Yahoo Sports - Mar. 17
More from Yahoo Sports
-
Swiatek gets extra security after harassment
World number two Iga Swiatek is receiving additional security at the Miami Open after she was harassed by a spectator during her practice.Media reports said that Swiatek was verbally harassed by a ...Yahoo Sports - 46m -
Texas Children's Houston Open 2025: First-round tee times and groupings
Tee times and groupings for the first round of the Texas Children's Houston Open.Yahoo Sports - 49m -
WBB: Bearcats G Abby Holtman enters transfer portal
Brandan Wesson, Wessography/TFON Cincinnati guard Abby Holtman has announced she will enter the transfer portal via IG. Holtman, a Florence Kentucky native spent the last two seasons at Cincinnati ...Yahoo Sports - 52m -
3 things to watch for the Sixers in final 10 games of the season
Here are three things to watch for with the Philadelphia 76ers in the final 10 games of the 2024-25 season.Yahoo Sports - 53m -
2025 NFL free agency: Contract details for New York Jets CB Brandon Stephens
2025 NFL free agency: Contract details for Jets CB Brandon Stephens:Yahoo Sports - 54m
More in Sports
-
NWSL condemns alleged abuse of Pride's Banda
The NWSL and NJ/NY Gotham FC are investigating "hateful language" directed from a fan toward Orlando Pride's Barbra Banda during a match on Sunday.ESPN - 46m -
Blatter, Platini cleared in FIFA corruption case
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and France great Michel Platini were both cleared of corruption charges by a Swiss court on Tuesday.ESPN - 46m -
Ronaldo: Penalty miss? Knew Portugal would win
Cristiano Ronaldo had no doubt that Portugal would progress to the UEFA Nations League semifinals even after missing a penalty on Sunday.ESPN - 46m -
Balogun returns with hat trick in Monaco friendly
United States striker Folarin Balogun has played his first match this year following shoulder surgery.ESPN - 46m -
Güler, Szoboszlai continue feud: 'This guy a joke'
Real Madrid star Arda Güler called Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai "a joke" on Monday after the pair clashed in the UEFA Nations League game between Turkey and Hungary.ESPN - 46m