Bubba Wallace’s spotter reveals what he wants out of NASCAR’s regular season finale at Daytona

Bubba Wallace is ahead of his 23rd race of the season. He won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week and snapped a 100-race winless streak. As things stand, Wallace is the only driver from the 23XI Racing camp who is locked into the playoffs.

The playoff cut line battle is intensifying each week. On that note, Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, wants 23XI Racing drivers Riley Herbst and Tyler Reddick to make the playoffs.

“Here's what I hope happens,” Kraft said on the Rubbin is Racing podcast (0:55). “I hope we only get one new winner and it's Riley (Herbst) at Daytona, and then Tyler (Reddick) can make his way on point, and then we all put all three of the 23XI cars in there.”

Reddick is currently the highest-placed driver in the championship standings. He owns 655 points besides five top-fives and eight top-10s. Herbst, on the other hand, sits 35th with 262 points to his name. In 22 starts this season, the Cup Series newcomer has yet to deliver his first top-five.

Herbst is in a tighter spot than Reddick. There are just four races until the Round of 16 opener kicks off at Darlington Raceway on August 31. That’s all the time Herbst has to log a win and qualify for the postseason. Given the points deficit he is in right now, there’s no way he can enter the playoffs without winning a race.

For now, all eyes are on Iowa Speedway, which will host this coming Sunday’s race, the Iowa Corn 350. Scheduled for August 3, the 350-lap event will stream live on the USA network (3:30 pm ET onwards) with exclusive radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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“I never congratulate”- Richard Petty says he will not congratulate Bubba Wallace for making history at Indy

Last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Bubba Wallace made history by winning the crown jewel Brickyard 400. With that, he became the only Black driver to win at the 2.5-mile racetrack.

Several NASCAR drivers, including his 23XI boss Denny Hamlin and the 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, congratulated Wallace. But Richard “The King” Petty said that he would not congratulate the Alabama native.

“No, I never congratulate anybody, okay? You know, even my drivers and stuff,” Petty said, explaining why he wouldn’t congratulate Bubba Wallace. “You put them out there, you expect them to win the race. That’s what you put them out there for.”

Bubba Wallace made his first Cup start with Petty’s team back in 2017. It was with the iconic #43 car that Wallace’s Cup career got its most-needed boost. The Toyota icon is now in his eighth full season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua