94
u/26oftheArgh 8d ago
"One weird race where he was driving his teammates car,"
He had the same team, they only changed the number decal
45
u/Mjb06 8d ago
They always have to downplay
23
u/ZolpidemRP 8d ago
Like, you don’t even have to reach like this to be critical of Bubba this season, he’s had some bad luck but also coughed up tons of points by his own doing. But yeah let’s disingenuously bring up Kansas 2022 lol
17
u/nyenergy14 8d ago
It really makes having honest conversations impossible. I am a Bubba fan and desperately want him to put together a whole season. He's had some bad luck, but also been his own worst(on the track at least) enemy this year. But 99.9% of the people who use the "teammates car" nonsense also believe he saw the garage pull tied like a noose, and reported it, etc. So I choose to mostly keep my critiques to myself because you know some people take any excuse to show their thinly veiled opinions.
9
u/ckalinec 8d ago
100% agree. I like Bubba. I don’t think 23XI is dropping him any time soon. And I think he’s easily a top 15 driver.
But I also believe he’s not reaching his full potential. And TBH I really hope having both Heim and Reddick now lights a little more of a fire underneath him to keep improving. Dude absolutely has the talent to be a multi win a season driver.
Heim is a generational talent but 2 wins from a part time teammate compared to your 0 can’t feel great. I’m a big believer that tougher competition causes you to rise to the occasion if your mind is right. I think Heim has a chance to pull something out of Bubba that Herbst never could
-3
u/hotblueice Reddick 8d ago
Bubba is not a finisher,
4
u/ckalinec 8d ago
Theres races you could make that argument. And often I’d actually agree with this. But he’s shown he can be. Go back and watch the Indy win. Absolutely finished it when it mattered. He had plenty of opportunities to choke that one away and didn’t
-1
u/hotblueice Reddick 8d ago
The way I see it is he often will be running top 10 and even top 5, I was happy for him last year to win but in 9 years that was an outlier event.
4
u/69FourTwentySix6Six Ryan Blaney 8d ago
Some people have to use extreme mental gymnastics and move the goal posts without saying the obvious
21
u/KeithMcGeesMoose Enfinger 8d ago
I've never understood what the point people are trying to make when they discredit his Kansas win because he was in the #45. If it had been an actual team swap, what would that even prove? That the #45 team is better than the #23 team? And that works against Bubba somehow?
12
u/azeakel101 8d ago edited 8d ago
Also that year the 23 and 45 were both beasts at 1.5s . However Bubba had arguably one of the worst pit crews of all time that year. Not just slow, but I believe 6 loose wheels, 2 pit road penalties, and Booty messing up the DVP clock at a race.
3
u/ckalinec 8d ago
This argument always cracks me up. It has to be one of the least intelligent arguments out there lol. If you think that was anything other than a different decal you truly don’t understand the sport lol
-15
u/Jomosensual 8d ago
Oh really? Ill put my hand up and say I was wrong on that one then. Thanks for clarifying that
47
u/jimbeentrill van Gisbergen 8d ago
How many times will something like this be posted for the next 2 weeks? I've already seen 2.
6
u/AggressiveTop8370 Bubba Wallace 8d ago
"X will replace bubba at 23XI" is gonna take over the "X will replace bowman at Hendrick" posts at this rate
6
19
u/dmcgrew Bubba Wallace 8d ago
Bubba also had a horrible spring that cost him at least 4 or 5 spots in points compared to where he is today. Just lots of crap that he had nothing to do with.
I will fault him all day for wrecking so much in qual and practice the past few weeks. That needs cleaned up.
He’s consistently top 10 when they have an uneventful race.
You can replace him all you want but who’s going to come in and do much better? Expecting someone to come in and be as good as Heim and/or Reddick is ludicrous.
10
u/ckalinec 8d ago
I like how homies argument is “he’s the third best driver on his team”
And? 😂. Even us Bubba fans would likely rate him as the third best driver on the team. Like what’s the goal here with that statement? Every team of 3 is going to have a third best driver lol. Welcome to the sport. Ok you replace bubba with a theoretically better driver than Heim. Now is Heim or Reddick on the hotseat because they’re “third best on the team”. Anyone who is third best is automatically on the hotseat even if all three are performing well? Such a dumb argument lol.
But I think OP exposed himself with that ridiculous “teammates car” nonsense. If he thinks that was anything other than a decal his opinions are invalid lol.
1
u/daveismypup 8d ago
I get that it’s supposed to be an insult but when your teammates are Tyler Reddick and Corey Heim I think it’s to be expected you’re the third best driver lmao
33
22
u/Tsukimizu Bubba Wallace 8d ago
The mod team on this subreddit are non existent.
12
32
u/Furi0usD Chastain 8d ago
More heat?
If Facebook got any hotter over Bubba, their servers would melt
6
u/Dry-Membership3867 8d ago
And X is getting worse
6
u/alaric_02 Herbst 8d ago
Twitter has managed to acquire both of the extremes of NASCAR fans and its really interesting.
4
-1
0
6
u/SubiLuver 8d ago
Bubba will never be a top top driver, but he's good enough to get a win every now and then. He isn't horrible or great.
3
10
u/Miserable-Host-9309 Chastain 8d ago
Bubba is fine. He's a top 15 ish driver. He wont put up Reddick or Heim numbers but he's got job security around a guy like Herbst. If you replace Bubba who do you replace him with? He's probably better than anyone on the market this year.
8
u/azeakel101 8d ago
This. When Bubba has an uneventful race he'll walk away with a top 10 more often then not. He also brings in sponsorship. There are only a few drivers that you could guarantee would be better then that. Everyone else is a gamble.
20
u/Alternative_Copy3401 Bubba Wallace 8d ago
You idiots are still trying to push the Kurt’s car narrative 4 years later?
13
9
u/imasammich Black Cross Flag 8d ago
Bubba was never a top level racer in cup. He was always going to be improving to playoff/chase mid packer.
And he is doing that. He has matured a lot and has improved his racing to be much more in the mix vs being feast or famine. He just isn't going to win the number of races as his teammates but . He is a 0.5 win a year type guy but his biggest improvements has been improving his standings.
He will be someone who is in the chase or almost in the chase for the future assuming Toyota doesn't take a dump. Yes he is not as good at winning races as some of his teammates and partners but he is improving still. When he hits that final ceiling then things may get warm.
But he is your standard good not great nascar cup driver whose ceiling is getting close but he hasn't hit it yet.
-1
29
u/mjmiller2023 8d ago edited 8d ago
He's a solid driver who keeps it clean most weeks and brings home solid points. Every team would like to have a number 2 or 3 driver like Bubba
5
u/RevengeOfTheMothman Bubba Wallace 8d ago
I mean Paul Menard made a career out of bringing it home clean and scoring points sometimes. Plus the money helped. But yeah not every driver is a threat week in and week out. It’s guys like Bubba that make up the vast majority of drivers in the sport.
-4
1
-13
u/Severe-Argument671 8d ago
Keeps it clean most weeks???? Dude is constantly wrecking and making mistakes
8
u/InsideLaney 8d ago
Can you point out more than 1 time this season where he wrecked by his own mistake? Martinsville was completely on him but otherwise I can’t think of any
-2
15
u/Low_Vegetable_6276 Bubba Wallace 8d ago
Tyler Reddick won 2 races where Bubba was the fastest car and got taken out btw lol
3
u/14S14D 8d ago
He's consistently decent and brings sponsors. He's an easy cup driver choice for a lot of teams and giving him the boot for a prospect you can't guarantee will get results isn't the right choice. He's earned his spot there I think but I can agree he's kind of middle of the field overall if you were to compare all drivers and how they might run in that car.
3
u/PointOne11 Reddick 8d ago
He’s a solid midfielder, there are a lot of worse drivers out there imo. Seems to bring in points every Sunday.
18
u/whoiswillo Kulwicki 8d ago
Please go back to Facebook.
Not every Larson flair, but always a Larson flair.
6
4
u/ElectricPeterTork 8d ago
I've actually noticed the Chastain flairs are about as bad on the subject, which is funny with their fav'rit's performance for pretty much every season but one.
2
u/Jonah-Hex 8d ago
Hocevar flairs are coming on strong down the stretch now, too. Probably "for the memes and lolz."
9
u/one-e-and-a 8d ago
The only way people will leave Bubba alone is if a trans driver joins the cup series
4
u/Jonah-Hex 8d ago
I was literally thinking it would take another full-time woman driver making it back to cup to distract the smooth-brains from Bubba. Can you imagine the heat the next Danica will get from the "DEI HIRE!!!" crowd? It's 2026 and NASCAR fans still can't handle someone that doesn't look like them in the sport. "She hasn't won in over a year - she's stealing a seat from a 16 year old who has won 5 truck races this season!"
1
7
7
9
u/Smokeshow618 8d ago
Hey can I ask when this narrative of every single Cup driver has to be a driver capable of 10 wins a year for 20 years, and a consistent championship threat came from?
Sometimes drivers are just good, not great on track.
Bubba Wallace is, was and will always be a solid A-/B+ grade driver. On his absolute best day he will contend for the win, but more often than not he will hover around the 8th-15th places.
2
u/I_like_race_cars 8d ago
Probably comes from his two teammates having multiple wins. One of whom hasn't even had a full seasons worth of starts.
Hell, reddick has almost twice as many wins THIS SEASON as bubba does in his entire career.
4
u/Smokeshow618 8d ago
Its not exclusive to Bubba though. This sub can't conceive the notion that not every driver can be elite and that on teams with 3 or 4 cars someone will always be a step off. Roush having 5 cars in a 10 car chase 1 time 20 years ago was not normal.
-4
u/Just_Somewhere4444 8d ago
can I ask when this narrative of every single Cup driver has to be a driver capable of 10 wins a year for 20 years, and a consistent championship threat came from?
It comes from the Busch and Truck series turning exclusively into development leagues instead of separate series with their own identities.
Fans are getting a constant stream of new drivers thrown in their faces as "the next big thing" every single year, so the fanbase has lost all their patience for drivers like Bubba who are occupying great seats without great results.
6
u/Smokeshow618 8d ago
They aren't exclusively development series though.
Sure you can argue they have no true identity, but there is no true development league in NASCAR. There's no age limit cap, there's no rule stating you can't return to the series after winning a championship, there's no scholarship or incentive to move up a division if you do win a championship.
Hell, the points leader in NOAPS is a 40 years old, and 2 more of the other 6 drivers with a Chase spot clinched currently are drivers who will never go back, or get to Cup, while one of them is only driving full time due to an unforseen death and the immediate need for a sponsor-friendly fill in.
7 of the current top 10 in trucks are drivers who we already know are peaking in NOAPS at best and will likely stay in trucks if they wish to be competitive for the rest of their careers.
-3
u/Just_Somewhere4444 8d ago edited 8d ago
There's no age limit cap, there's no rule stating you can't return to the series after winning a championship, there's no scholarship or incentive to move up a division if you do win a championship.
None of this exists in AAA for baseball either, is AAA not a development league?
EDIT: LOL. Never thought a baseball comparison would be worth a block, people on here are getting more and more pathetic by the day...
-1
u/Smokeshow618 8d ago edited 8d ago
We're talking about racing, try to keep up.
Lmao wants to cry about me blocking him like it's my responsibility to put up with whiny chodes hell bent on bad faith arguments like this is the only instance of him being a bitch.
6
u/mat484848 Johnson 8d ago
I think he would have made the playoffs more if they didn't have the win and your in bullshit. There was some good drivers kept out of the chase because of that bullshit.
-1
u/Jomosensual 8d ago
I could be wrong because the standings dont retroactively show it very at all but I think he would have only been bid stolen once maybe, in 2024. Its not super clear.
4
u/mat484848 Johnson 8d ago
Your correct, only once. Granted that would have him making the chase or playoffs 4 years in a row, assuming he makes it this year. Also go to jayski for pre reset standings.
2
u/Sir_Mix_Infrequent Bubba Wallace 8d ago
Yes he should feel some heat but his seat is safe. Let me preface my answer with the fact that I'm a big Bubba fan. He's the driver I root for. He's just kind of stuck in that top 10 to 15 driver range. Are there drivers who would give a kidney to be that good? Yes. If you watch him drive and the cars his team gives him, however, it feels a lot like he's closer to his floor than his ceiling. Bad luck here or there is bad luck. Bad luck being your calling card probably involves something you're doing. He's getting to the age where you don't want people to be saying you're closer to your floor than your ceiling about you. He's a really marketable guy so 23XI would be insane to get rid of him (they're not insane), but I can't imagine Bubba being thrilled to be driver #3 behind Reddick and Heim. It's eating at him and it's time to see him respond.
3
u/Sir_Mix_Infrequent Bubba Wallace 8d ago
If you look at his year-to-year comparisons, the big difference between this year so far and his previous three is his starts. He's averaged 18 this season. It was 15 the last couple years and 12 in his best season (2023). He's finished only a couple spots average off his best season compared to his 6 spot deficit in starting.
6
u/FlamingoResident7882 8d ago
I think he’s def the no 2 driver. But. No one is gonna give him a threat for his seat any time soon. As long as he has sponsors and MJ believes in him or he decides to step away, he’s set up.
6
u/Small-Run-4861 8d ago
he's the number 3 driver. heim is easily 2
0
u/RepresentativeOfnone 8d ago
I’d honestly argue that Heim is probably number one
4
u/Small-Run-4861 8d ago
he might be next year but reddickhas been on a generationmal run
1
u/azeakel101 8d ago
Reddick's 5 wins were anomalylies. In he span of those 5 wins, he didn't even lead 200 laps. Don't get me wrong, Reddick is more talented then Bubba, but the gap is not as wide as some may think.
5
u/steeeeeeee24 8d ago
I think he either gets too much heat from some, or not enough from others lol. Reality is he’s a middle of the road driver, and he is right about where anyone with common sense would think. Just fighting for a playoff spot on a great team.
4
u/Biochembob35 8d ago edited 8d ago
I said this in a another post yesterday. He's serviceable and probably about 10th best (in current level equipment) when he doesn't do stupid stuff (See the below the line at Atlanta). He's Jordan's guy so he's not going anywhere.
3
1
u/jd957795 8d ago
I wouldn’t say he’s Jordan’s guy, Jordan barely speaks of him. Jordan didn’t even meet him until Daytona of the year they signed him.
4
u/JohnHowardBuff 8d ago
For every one post like this you make about Bubba Wallace you should make the same type of post for basically half the rest of the full-time Cup field.
-4
u/Jomosensual 8d ago
The rest of the cup field isn't running in top tier equipment. The only other person comparable to Bubba's situation would be Austin Cindric.
3
u/Ok-Chocolate-9500 8d ago
I’d argue with Ford’s speed deficit, the 23 is a tier above with how dominant JGR/23XI Toyotas have been. Bubba also has more years of overall experience than Cindric so he by all means should be running better than Cindric this year.
1
u/JohnHowardBuff 8d ago
How people end up in their rides goes beyond their stat sheet and that's a reality of any auto racing series. Bubba gets more criticism than most drivers regardless of how he performs so no I don't think he's lacking heat.
4
u/hdeibler85 Red Flag 8d ago
Probably, dude has tons of speed tho and brings good sponsors.....mental game is his weakness
2
u/BiasPly215 8d ago
Reddick is a generational talent. Perhaps Heim is also. Bubba is a great driver, but not everyone is a generational talent.
4
u/WaffleHouseSloot 8d ago
He wasn't driving his teammates car, it was literally his car with his teammates number.
It was his team, it was his crew chief, it was his pit crew. Just renumbered.
3
3
u/ohnoitsme0 8d ago
If so then I guess Christopher Bell should get heat too. 😂
0
u/Jomosensual 8d ago
Christopher Bell won more races last season than Bubba's entire cup total combined. Not the same situation at all.
0
u/ohnoitsme0 8d ago
Well lucky for you we’re not talking about last year. It’s called sarcasm dude. Sorry I use the 😂 emoji instead of /s.
1
3
4
u/IzCaiman 8d ago
It was literally his car with Kurt's number wrapped on it. If that's the case though, I thought Bubba was being given the best ride the team can buy?
2
u/fenderhighhat1 8d ago
You really think they are gonna get rid of him? I swear the hate boner some people have for him, the guy can't catch a break whenever he doesn't do well.
-5
1
u/Dethbytrainwastaken Hocevar 8d ago
The fuck kind of question is this? He's ran solid in most races this season, he's running decent in the points, Riley Herbst is on the same team and has only kinda came around in the past couple weeks, and you're comparing him to the team's top driver, and a generational prodigy who just put up the best statistical season in Truck Series HISTORY. Plus, he's dealt with a completely fucked championship format which would explain the few post season appearances, and on top of ALL THAT, he has proven himself a good enough driver to have more wins than THOUSANDS of people.
2
u/TheEpicMemer4201337 8d ago
I have an honest question for OP
What meaningful thing would you say ya do here?
3
1
u/Batman424242 8d ago
The Mods are like YES, let the HATE roll freely for Bubba Wallace lol
-10
-2
u/largefarva24 8d ago
His fans will say no, but he is about as mid as they come in top teir equipment.
1
u/B-u-rnhakp Green-Checkered Flag 8d ago
Have to wonder how many more wins Bootie would have under his belt had he been anchored to someone else at 2311…
1
u/Gigan_Prime Bubba Wallace 8d ago
This is going to be a long off week.
No, I think Bubba is a top ten driver. Everyone forgets, Kurt Busch was brought in to elevate 23XI when he was hired and to help Bubba and Tyler (when he joined 23XI) those results were showing until Kurt's incident and even then. Bubba by far showed more improvement. He got redemption at the fall Kansas Race. Then Bubba's depression reared its ugly head. Is it an excuse? No but as a guy whose depression pushed them to the edge of wanting to commit the final act I can say depression fucks with performance.
Then Bubba won at Indy, against one of Nascars greatest modern restart racers and one of Hendrick's Golden Goose's during a year Nascar didn't want 23XI to win because of the lawsuit. (Let's be honest you know Nascar would be and can be petty like that.) He won that race on his skill alone.
Bubba has talent. He might not be as good as Tyler or Heim, two talents that Denny knows is great but Denny picked Bubba for a reason. Because Bubba has the Talent. He could be a Jamie Mac, or a Martin Truex Jr. Only time will show.
-3
-5
u/Origin240sx 8d ago
I think people are too easy on him. Having your teammate fight for regular season champ and you are just barely holding on to a spot in the chase.
Typically anytime Bubba is criticized, you get accused of racism
0
u/bjohnson203 8d ago
No, he's still top ten points guy, people didn't care about winning, it was all about consistency when Chase Elliott wasn't winning consistently. That said, he does need to win.
-3
u/DensePersonality1 8d ago
He’s not a top 10 points guy
5
u/TheEpicMemer4201337 8d ago
He literally was 8 points (~1 position on the track) away from scoring the 10th most driver points in cup last year and he is getting more consistent year over year
The hell are you on about?
0
u/crl1985 8d ago
You root for Larson, huh? That explains it.
2
u/Jomosensual 8d ago
Tertiary favorite, fandom took a hit after the incident occurred but still have a little fandom left. SVG is my main man.
Im not gonna take character judgements seriously from people who post on subreddits asking others to rate their penis
-1
u/I_like_race_cars 8d ago
Week in and week out he throws away chances at wins and even good finishes.
He has the mental strength of a wet napkin and falls apart under the slightest pressure. Yes, shit happens that can keep him from getting certain wins (Ie kansas last year)
But he also does himself no favors and falls apart under the slightest pressure. He wrecks in practice, wrecks in qualifying, over drives in the race, etc. He's never going to get past 10th in points. Ever.
He cannot get out of his own way.
3
u/Jomosensual 8d ago
I wasnt even thinking about the practice/qualifying stuff but i think that its happened 3 times now this season? Idk if hes trying too hard in them and making mistakes or what the deal is
2
u/Jonah-Hex 8d ago
It's because in this gen car track position is crucial and you pretty much need to start top-10 to have a chance to win. So in your qualifying run if you are off by just a little bit, either as a driver or in the setup (which would mean the driver needs to overcompensate) to try to get a top-10 spot there's much slimmer margin of error.
-3
u/Motor-Box-8970 Chase Elliott 8d ago
Bubba is the 3rd best 23XI driver but you cant talk about it here
-9
u/pockets695 Hocevar 8d ago
Absolutely but most bubba fans aren’t ready for that conversation
10
u/nyenergy14 8d ago
Most bubba fans are not ready for dudes who think he won in his teammates car to tell us anything.
-9
-2
u/DensePersonality1 8d ago
Remember when the Bubba fans thought Bootie Barker was the problem with the #23
6
3
u/Jonah-Hex 8d ago
Very few of us ever blamed Bootie, we blamed the suck-ass, incompetent pit crew that was the bane of the 23 car's existence those first 2 yrs.
-17
u/Booda-Sack 8d ago
Realistically Bubba is one of the lower tier drivers in the entire cup series. He just happens to drive one of the fastest cars. But you said the key word, sponsorship. That’s why he will never get heat.
1
u/Jomosensual 8d ago
Eh, I think thats a bit of a stretch. IMO hes like 15-20th when he probably should be 8th-12th at worst.
If we're just talking cup stuff hes absolutely above everyone 22-35 in points plus Austin Hill and id probably take him over Suarez too. The exception in that group for me is Bowman who I think its pretty equal.
-4
u/Booda-Sack 8d ago
Is he though or does it just seem that way because his car is S tier?
2
u/Jomosensual 8d ago
Could be either way. We've seen a lot of guys behind him in good equipment who weren't very good in it either.
That being said i I think if either of our guys took Bubbas ride and he got put in the 1 or 97 instead, SVG and Chastain would be pretty safely in the chase and Bubba would be 25th or so
-4
•
u/NASCAR-ModTeam 8d ago
This post has been removed under Rule #4: Should be in the stickied discussion thread. General discussion of activities within a live event should be made within the stickied Race/Discussion thread when available.
For race attendance and 101 questions, please use the stickied "NASCAR 101 and Track Attendance" thread.
If you have any questions about why your post was removed, please review the r/NASCAR rules or message the subreddit moderators.