DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Bubba Wallace made the NASCAR playoffs for the first time, taking the last available spot in the 16-driver field on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott failed to make this year’s field.
Below, The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck offers a quick reaction to the Cup Series regular-season finale.
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Bubba is in
Tears flowed when Wallace emerged from the No. 23 car on pit road, but they surprisingly weren’t from the emotional driver. Instead, his wife Amanda stood nearby wiping her eyes in a happy moment.
Wallace, for his part, said he was too “mentally drained” to have any sort of emotion either way. He was thrilled to be in the playoffs, sure, but mostly relieved after what he said was one of the most difficult weeks of his life — one that saw him waking up in the middle of the night, stressed over entering Daytona on the playoff bubble.
But now Wallace is in the field for the first time, along with teammate Tyler Reddick, who bear-hugged him from behind during an interview. Later, 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan sauntered down pit road to congratulate Wallace and crew members — and told crew chief Bootie Barker he’d see him next week at the Southern 500 in Darlington, S.C.
How far can Wallace go in the playoffs? First-round tracks like Kansas and Bristol line up in his favor, and he’ll be a threat in the second round at Talladega. But without playoff points (Wallace is the No. 16 seed), it’s not going to be an easy road.
Chase is out
Elliott was going to be the biggest story of Daytona, win or lose. As it turned out, despite his best efforts, he was unable to mount a charge with Kevin Harvick on a late restart and was out-run by RFK Racing teammates Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher, who won the race.
The No. 9 team’s performance was still good enough to make the owner-point playoffs, even though that’s not the competition fans care about. Elliott missed seven races this season (six due to an injury from a snowboarding accident, one from a suspension for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin), but the car still ran well enough to beat Wallace’s No. 23 team.
The championship payout money is based on the owner, not the driver, so Elliott will still want to run well and make it up to team owner Rick Hendrick. But Elliott himself will not be eligible for the title this year, and NASCAR’s playoffs will take a major hit in interest level as Elliott fans may choose not to pay as much attention as usual. The TV ratings should be a fascinating study over the next 10 weeks.
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Preece’s terrifying crash
Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Preece was awake and alert after one of the worst crashes in recent NASCAR history, which occurred late in Saturday night’s race. Preece was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation, though he was conscious after climbing from his car.
Preece was sent into the backstretch grass at full speed and went airborne, where he flipped somewhere near a dozen times — high-speed pirouettes in the air, back down onto the ground, then more violent and vicious barrel rolls. It was horrifying to watch, and replays showed safety concerns like his roof hatch coming off and his window net flying loose during the crash.
NASCAR will do an intense look at Preece’s accident and where the safety of the Next Gen car can be improved, but it’s certainly concerning to see the car get so easily airborne, shoot so high into the air and roll so many times. That Preece is alive at all should be considered both a testament to the current state of NASCAR safety and a sigh of relief that it could have been much worse.
What’s next?
The playoff field is now set, with the opening race next week at the Southern 500. William Byron is the No. 1 seed in the playoffs (based on the number of playoff points drivers accumulated during the regular season), followed by regular-season champion Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Buescher — who won his third race in the last five weeks on Saturday night.
(Top photo of Bubba Wallace: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
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