Bubba Wallace expressed frustration after last weekend's Daytona race, referring to his performance and points situation as unacceptable. Now, however, he is confident and excited as he heads to Darlington.
Wallace is not in a great position in terms of points. He is 21 points below the cutline with Chris Buescher immediately ahead of him. Wallace could point his way into the playoffs with a strong day, but he knows that the safest path is just to win at a track where he has four straight top-10 finishes.
"We've worked on a lot of stuff this week in the sim to be better, and I'm excited just to show up and basically, I need to portray the best race that I've ever had in my career to make the playoffs," Wallace said ahead of Darlington weekend. "And I don't say that from a desperation mode.
"I say it as I'm confident in our team and our ability, as long as all the outside factors execute -- an example, pit crew and strategy -- then there's no reason why we can't be in victory lane at Darlington on Sunday. So that's what we need to focus on, and that's where we're at."
Getting back to the playoffs has been a goal for Wallace and the No. 23 team.
He made his first appearance in the Cup Series postseason last year by accumulating enough points. He reached the Round of 12 after performing consistently enough in the Round of 16 while other drivers dealt with unexpected issues.
Wallace ended last season with five top-five finishes and 10 top-10s, a mark he has matched in the first 25 races of the season. He has improved his average finish to 15.8 this season but remains winless since Kansas in the fall of 2022.
Wallace admits that he will face some stress this weekend at Darlington Raceway, one of NASCAR's toughest tracks. He also has some frustration about failing to win in nearly two years. And yet, he remains in a much better place than in previous seasons.
"I mean, I was pretty damn frustrated after the race Saturday," Wallace said. "And then yesterday I set that aside and was ready to go. If it was Sunday, yesterday for Darlington, I was really excited to compete, so kind of bummed that we still have to wait three more days to get on the race track.
"But I think that's where things are a little different for me now (than) a year ago -- hell, even six months ago -- of carrying that frustration all the way up until the race started, the next race started, instead of really letting things go and focusing on what's important throughout the week to set you up for the weekend ahead."
Wallace has set his frustration aside and now he will get his wish. His future will be in his hands on Sunday night as he competes in the Southern 500, one of NASCAR's crown jewel races. He has one more opportunity to go out and put himself in the playoffs.