By David Morgan, Associate Editor
SAN DIEGO – Bubba Wallace brought home a hard-fought runner-up finish in Sunday’s Anduril 250, but getting there was no easy feat.
After starting the race in 12th place, Wallace advanced his No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota into the top-10 in short order and established himself as one of the drivers to keep an eye on early in the going, but following a pit stop on Lap 18, his day nearly derailed itself.
During the pit stop, the right front tire changer was unable to get the wheel fully secured when the jack dropped early, leaving that wheel loose when he returned to the track. Though Wallace attempted to limp his car back around without the wheel coming off, it did just that and he would have to serve a two-lap penalty as a result.
As the race played out and cautions fell his way, Wallace wound up back on the lead lap and as the laps wound down was in position to capitalize late as he and his 23XI teammates had a stranglehold on the top-five.
But by the time he advanced into the runner-up position behind teammate and eventual winner Corey Heim, he was too far back to be able to do anything about it without a caution and would have to settle for second.
“Good rebound for our team. Really, really. My body language and facial expressions will not show it, but I’m really excited for Corey and Bootie getting him back to Victory Lane,” said Wallace.
“Being a winner in the Cup Series is something that we all, when we get there, you all want to achieve and to be able to do that for him…it’s pretty special. So, I know he is put in a lot of work behind the scenes, especially the weekends that he’s not racing and it’s all paying off for him.
“So yeah, I just got to keep busting my ass and maybe something will go my way, but I guess I got to look at it from a glass half full. But on to Sonoma next weekend.”
A well earned second place, but still leaving him wondering what-if on a day that started and ended on a positive note, but had him fuming after the pit road miscue.
“[You] drive your ass off on a track that you have no idea what you’re doing. Drive up to lead and then have it all taken away from you,” he said.
“It’s not bashing anybody. Pit crew is one of the best on pit road and had a mistake. We all have mistakes. Unfortunate that it cost us.
“At the end of our weekends we fill out was it a green race or was it not? And here’s another where it’s not, so that’s a lot of not green races for us. And by green means nothing went wrong. We executed whether that’s a top five or top 20, there’s just another asterisk mark beside our finish and that’s what’s frustrating.
“So good day, I guess, in second.”
Wallace will now look to carry the momentum from Sunday into next weekend at Sonoma, hoping some of the road course success he found in San Diego will still be there on the winding course through California wine country.
“I thought about that when we were too laps down. I’m like maybe my Sonoma weekend will go better because that place kicks my ass,” he said. “So having a good road course race, I hope I don’t go from hero to zero, but I feel confident going into Sonoma and having a good weekend.
“But yeah, it’s all in all good day.”
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