Both Bubba Wallace and Austin Dillon will start Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race from the rear of the field after some practice drama.
In Group A, Dillon only ran three laps before taking his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet back to the garage. He reported that the engine started making a strange noise, and he had no pace. His fastest lap was a 29.988s, a full 1.4s off the fastest time and seven tenths slower to the next car on the speed charts.
RCR confirmed that they will change the engine, and Dillon will not take part in qualifying. He is a former Cup winner at Texas, leading an RCR 1-2 finish there during the 2020 season.
Later in the same session, Wallace had completed 21 laps when the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota snapped around on him in the middle of Turns 1 and 2. He backed the car into the outside wall, damaging the rear and left-front. Wallace was fifth in the speed charts for his group.
What sent Wallace spinning?
"This is Texas, it's treacherous," said Wallace after being released from the infield care center. "I was wondering if I got too high, but it looked like I had a decent arc. Felt a little loose, but then it just came around so fast."
Wallace then met with up with several reporters inside the media center, including Motorsport.com, where he expanded on what he felt behind the wheel.
"It just came around out of nowhere," commented Wallace, who also noted how edge you always when racing at Texas. "Surprised me. I knew I was loose in the moment, went to correct it, and it was too late. I hate it. I thought we had some decent speed in our Chumba Casino Camry. It's a long Saturday, but it's going to make for a good Sunday though."
On how this hinders the No. 23 team, Wallace added: Looking at the positives of the day, erase the negatives, and go drive hard tomorrow ... We're starting in the back. No good pit stall. The odds are against us, so we'll see how mentally tough we are."
Wallace earned pole for the Texas Cup race in 2023, but he will join Dillon on the back row of the grid for Sunday's race. It's likely 23XI will have to go to a backup car, but there has been no official confirmation of that at this time.
There were no incidents in Group B practice, but Daniel Suarez stopped on the apron with a flat tire. He then reversed the car back into the pits to avoid damaging the sensitive rear diffuser. William Byron (Group A) set the fastest overall time. while Denny Hamlin led the Group B drivers.
