As Tyler Reddick bested Kyle Larson by a single point in the fight for the regular season title, his teammate Bubba Wallace was in a far more precarious position. The driver of the No. 23 Toyota started the Southern 500 from pole position and was able to close down to within 11 points of the 16th and final playoff spot through the first two stages. But as the race went on, the battle to make the playoffs became more daunting.
Several must-win drivers emerged near the front of the field as Wallace did all he could to keep Chris Buescher at bay in the points fight. Unfortunately, his chances took a severe hit with just over 20 laps to go. A multi-car accident left Wallace with nowhere to go, getting hit on three sides as he joined the crash scene. 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan looked on in dismay as Wallace's playoff hopes quickly faded.
“We just got behind on adjustments," lamented Wallace. "We were back and forth on our Toyota Camry. Just a little too loose, a little too tight. And that caution with a couple laps on tires where we stayed out, I don’t know if that was the deciding factor, but we just got so tight there and got back there in traffic and in a spot we hadn’t been all day and got caught up someone else’s mess. It’s unfortunate. I hate it for our guys. Hats off to the 14 [Chase Briscoe]. I thought I did something yesterday, they one-upped us and showed up when it was game time so that’s pretty badass so congrats to them.
"Man, just wasn’t good enough for 16th this year. I hate that. It stinks saying that, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort from all of us on the 23 car. Best of luck to the 45 [Tyler Reddick] and hopefully a Toyota wins.”
Wallace ultimately finished 16th after leading 37 laps. At the checkered flag, he was 27 points away from making the playoffs. The final spot went to fellow Toyota driver, Ty Gibbs.
Despite Sunday's outcome and the winless season, statistically speaking, 2024 could be Wallace's best year yet in the Cup Series. With ten races to go, he has already equaled his top-fives and top-tens from the 2022 and 2023 seasons. His average finish is better than it has ever been, but unlike last year, he was unable to point his way into the playoffs this time around.
"Gotta sit and dwell on it, (during Labor Day), but hopefully no meetings. You got four or five days to reset and go on to -- where are we going next? I don't even know. Shows how mental this race was, but will be fine."
Reddick's advice
While celebrating his regular season title, Reddick took a moment to comment on his teammate missing out, but said he wanted to keep most of it "between me and him."
"It's tough. I've been in his spot. It's not fun to be that close and just miss it, man. It's tough to go back and look. You can pick apart the races each weekend. We gave up points here or there. It's a tough thing. For them, if they just go through the rest of this, focus on continuing to improve that consistency, they'll be better off for next year.
"At the end of the day, though, there's just some things you can't control, man. I feel like a lot of times this year they've been right in the middle of stuff happening on the racetrack. A lot of times this year, I don't know how to explain it, when things have happened on the racetrack, I've missed it and been able to benefit from it ... They have a great opportunity here over the rest of this year to reload and be ready to go for next time."
