Bubba Wallace experienced a dramatic turn of events at Talladega, nearly clinching victory before misfortune in the final laps cost him a win and left him deeply frustrated. The Bubba Wallace Talladega finish highlighted both his remarkable skill as a superspeedway driver and the unpredictable nature of the race’s outcome.
Strong Start, Rising Hopes, and Dramatic Twists
Wallace started in tenth position, navigating through the field with confidence and positive momentum. After recording a strong 17.3 average finish at superspeedways, he finished Stage 1 in sixth place. However, the middle stage saw him fade to 27th, an unexpected setback for a driver of his caliber. Undeterred, Wallace and his 23XI Racing team regrouped, and by the crucial final stage, Wallace was back among the frontrunners and poised to contend for the win.
By lap 178, Wallace joined forces with Zane Smith, forming an assertive third lane on the track’s outer edge. Working together, Wallace pushed Smith to the front, intensifying the battle up front. Todd Gilliland, benefiting from support, retook the lead to make it a Front Row Motorsports one-two, just ten laps before the finish. Entering the final three laps, Wallace capitalized on a bump draft from Chase Briscoe to edge past William Byron, only for Chris Buescher to make his own aggressive move in the closing moments.
Unpredictable Endings and Crushing Disappointment
Chaos erupted with two laps remaining as Buescher, occupying the lead down the backstretch, took an off-center nudge from Byron, causing a heavy crash against the inside wall. Byron, himself propelled by Carson Hocevar, could not avoid further contact. The race entered its decisive moment as Byron moved to the inside and Kyle Larson to the outside, with Wallace and Hocevar stacked right behind.
The final turns brought heartbreak. Larson, fighting for position, endured a sudden fuel shortage with just half a lap left. This development allowed Wallace and Briscoe a final chance to battle, but as the outside line unraveled, Briscoe seized the opportunity, securing a win by the slim margin of 0.145 seconds over a career-best second-place finish for Gilliland.
Wallace Expresses Frustration and Reflects on Lost Opportunity
Wallace’s reactions after the race captured his intense disappointment amid high expectations for the Bubba Wallace Talladega finish.
“We made it to the team, but we beat ourselves, so a really good opportunity there again. And just didn’t have all the pieces of the puzzle there, so bummed, frustrated, pissed off. Wanted to get us another one, but we got two more (races to go).”
—Bubba Wallace, Driver
He later considered the defining moment involving Larson’s empty tank.
“Yeah, obviously, you never know when people are going to run out. I think if we could have covered that a little bit better, it would have been hard. If I would have popped bottom, the #19 would have drove around me on the top. Just wasn’t meant to be crazy how it all played out there.”
—Bubba Wallace, Driver
Status in the Championship Hunt and What Lies Ahead
This unpredictable race further shaped the playoff picture. With Briscoe’s Talladega victory, he joins his teammate Denny Hamlin in the Championship 4, while two spots remain open as the contenders head into the final race of the Round of 8. Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson maintain a points buffer above the cutline, separated by 37 and 36 points, respectively, while two Hendrick Motorsports cars left Talladega frustrated despite showing early promise.
With only one race before the finale, William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott find themselves below the cutoff and face considerable deficits in the standings—trailing by 36, 38, 47, and 62 points. For these drivers, the next stop at Martinsville is a decisive, high-pressure opportunity: only a win can extend their championship dreams.
The Bubba Wallace Talladega finish underscored both the heartbreak and thrill that define NASCAR’s superspeedway events, reinforcing just how quickly fortunes can shift for top drivers and teams in a season’s final stretch.
Short post-race media scrum with Bubba Wallace. Frustrated and said they didn't have all the "pieces of the puzzle" on the last lap.
Bubba thinks if he could've covered a little better once the 5 car running out of fuel changed things in the lead pack, but chalked it up to not… https://t.co/MVfdrBlG3K pic.twitter.com/P9qWTO2FaN
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) October 19, 2025
