Bubba Wallace experienced a remarkable transformation during the 2025 NASCAR season, displaying newfound composure both on and off the track. Dale Earnhardt Jr. credits Wallace’s shift to off-track stability, emphasizing how personal milestones shaped the driver’s improved performance and mindset.
How Bubba Wallace Responded to 2024’s Setbacks
The regular season finale at Darlington Raceway in 2024 highlighted the pressure Bubba Wallace faced during a difficult year. With his playoff hopes on the line, Wallace started from pole position and posted a strong second-place in Stage 1. Despite moments of speed, the No. 23 Toyota became unpredictable as the race wore on, and a multi-car crash with 23 laps to go ended Wallace’s quest for a playoff berth. Missing out by 27 points, Wallace’s disappointment was obvious, symbolizing a season defined by emotional highs and lows for the driver and his fans.
But 2025 presented a different version of Wallace—a driver approaching his craft and life with greater calm. Observers noted that something fundamental had changed in his demeanor after the previous year’s crushing disappointment. Dale Earnhardt Jr., a well-known NASCAR figure and commentator, turned the spotlight on Wallace’s personal life to explain this turnaround.
The Foundation of Bubba Wallace’s Maturity
Dale Earnhardt Jr. believed that Wallace’s growth wasn’t rooted in technical improvements or racing strategy alone. Instead, he saw a personal evolution, beginning well before the opening green flag of 2025. As Earnhardt Jr. shared on his podcast,
“Bubba got married and growing family. All of those things, I know there’s more to it. I don’t have all the information. When you watch Bubba, you just see this guy; you see him being able to handle the mental side of it so much better. I think he’ll admit that was something he struggled with for a long time,”
—Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR Legend and Broadcaster
The transformation began in Wallace’s personal life. After marrying Amanda in 2022, Wallace spent much of 2024 and 2025 settling into his new role as a husband. The arrival of their first child, Becks, provided another anchor, shifting Wallace’s daily focus from relentless competition to the demands of family life. Friends close to Wallace observed a deep grounding effect that fatherhood had on him, saying his routine and attitudes shifted substantially after Becks’ birth.
Far from derailing his career, this layer of off-track stability helped Wallace mentally reset. The new challenges and joys of parenthood rebalanced his priorities. In the words of Wallace himself, the days after tough on-track moments looked quite different:
“Now I walk back, like after Kansas, and I was fine, and she’s beside herself. It’s kind of funny.”
—Bubba Wallace, NASCAR Driver
This growth was evident after the bitter ending at Kansas, where Wallace lost the lead and the win on the last lap following contact with team owner Denny Hamlin. Instead of reacting with visible frustration, Wallace showed acceptance and humor— a clear contrast to his reactions in past seasons.
Putting the Pieces Together: Wallace’s Best Year Yet
Bubba Wallace’s off-track changes translated into one of the most consistent and mature performances of his career during the 2025 Cup Series season. The numbers underscored his progress: Wallace earned a win, six top-five finishes, fourteen top-ten results, led 378 laps, and ended the season with an average finish of 18.5. Ultimately, he placed 11th in the driver standings, a testament to his evolution as a competitor.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. called attention not just to these results, but to the steadiness with which Wallace handled setbacks and successes alike. According to Earnhardt Jr., the greatest difference wasn’t in lap times or strategy, but in how Wallace managed the demands and chaos of a NASCAR season. The changing roles of husband and father fostered a sturdier, more resilient approach on race weekends to the benefit of both Wallace and his team at 23XI Racing.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Offers Advice for Josh Berry’s Development
Following Wallace’s example of steadiness and maturity, Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned his analysis to another Cup Series driver who faced a very different year. Josh Berry of Wood Brothers Racing had a season marked by volatility, swinging between strong finishes and costly mistakes. Berry’s year included one victory, three top-five and eight top-ten results, but was undermined by nine DNFs, which ultimately hampered his playoff push.
The discussion opened with a candid assessment from TJ Majors,
“Josh Berry has had a solid year.”
—TJ Majors, NASCAR Spotter and Analyst
Despite the decent statistics, Dale Earnhardt Jr. pinpointed inconsistency as Berry’s biggest challenge:
“Josh did all right. Josh did great, but I mean, they were either amazing or on the hook. I feel like that Josh was like, you know, top a top 12 car, top 15 car every week, but just weird things would happen or, you know, they just make a mistake,”
—Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR Legend and Broadcaster
Several high-profile incidents, including a car fire at Bristol that ended his playoff run, and crashes at Darlington and Gateway, where Berry collided with Tyler Reddick and was later spun by Chase Elliott, highlighted the erratic nature of his campaign. These events eliminated Berry from playoff contention and reflected a larger issue—a pattern of promising runs undone by misfortune or error.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. summarized his recommendation for Berry’s 2026 prospects:
“I think that if they can just get where they’re not so hot and cold. The 30ths need to be 15th,”
—Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR Legend and Broadcaster
For Berry, the task ahead is to turn those moments of heartbreak into solid, dependable results, mirroring the stability that has allowed Wallace to emerge as a consistent playoff contender.
What These Lessons Mean for the NASCAR Community
The examples of Bubba Wallace and Josh Berry resonate far beyond their own careers, serving as touchstones for the broader NASCAR community and fans. Wallace’s growth, built around Bubba Wallace off-track stability, illustrates how support systems, personal milestones, and mental well-being contribute as much to performance as technical skill or strategy. For Dale Earnhardt Jr., such qualities define a lasting competitor: one who is capable of weathering the sport’s inevitable setbacks and pressures with perspective and resilience.
On the other hand, Berry’s roller-coaster year reminds fans and other drivers of the thin line between promise and disappointment in motorsports. With NASCAR’s ever-evolving landscape, adaptability, composure, and a focus on continuous improvement are essential. Wallace and Berry’s experiences, highlighted by Earnhardt Jr.’s candid insights, point toward a 2026 season where the bar for emotional intelligence and mental focus, as well as technical execution, is higher than ever.
As the next season approaches, the lessons of 2025 stand clear: achieving competitive excellence isn’t solely about speed or aggression—stability off the track is becoming as valuable as determination behind the wheel. Wallace’s journey offers proof that the path to victory often begins well before race day, in the quiet changes that take place at home.
