It’s no secret that Bubba Wallace and company have been struggling on pit road this season.
Aside from his runner-up finish at the Daytona 500, he’s ran into some bad luck here lately, and that narrative reigned true this past weekend at the NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas, where he finished 10th.
And the worst part? He genuinely had a shot to win the race, but some issues in the pit involving an uncontrolled tire violation may have shot down any of those chances, as Wallace watched his 23XI teammate Kurt Busch take the victory.
He was sitting at 5th when a pit road violation sent him to the back. He managed to battle back for a Top 10 finish, but his car was fast yesterday and he had a shot at winning.
Wallace tweeted out after the tough finish:
“At the end of the day. YOU control your own destiny. You have a choice when adversity meets you. Flop… or Fight…
Hungrier than ever”
At the end of the day. YOU control your own destiny. You have a choice when adversity meets you. Flop… or Fight…
Gave it my all. I can sleep good knowing that.
Hungrier than ever
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) May 16, 2022
Of course, he’s not gonna put the blame on his team, but fellow driver and co-owner of 23XI Denny Hamlin admitted that he has every right to be frustrated out there:
“He should be frustrated… listen, I passed #45 pretty early, easily in traffic, but I couldn’t pass the #23. He was really, really fast, I mean extremely fast.
The results don’t show it, but like I said, as a team, we’re letting him down right now.”
Hamlin admitted that the issue needs to be fixed “internally,” which may have hinted towards Wallace’s crew:
“We gotta work through some issues on pit road certainly.
I think we have to figure out how to manage races. And you don’t always have to have ‘Hail Mary’ stops in my opinion, sometimes you gotta run the ball and have a solid stop with no mistakes to keep you in the game.”
Although Wallace may not express his full frustration with the internal issues his team has faced this season, Twitter didn’t hold back:
Bubba Wallace: “Keep me in this race and we can win”
Bubba’s Pit Crew: “Did you say throw a tire into pit row?”
— Jason Harmon (@_jason_777) May 15, 2022
I really don’t know how Bubba Wallace hasn’t managed to physically assault his pit crew mid race at some point this year. They’ve screwed him out of a lot of really solid finishes all year. https://t.co/vGgym20VdI
— Matthew Chandler (@coach_chandler) May 16, 2022
bubba wallace pit crew pic.twitter.com/nvqwESDxzz
— trace 🖤 (@SkyTrace29) May 15, 2022
Another solid run by @BubbaWallace, despite once again having to overcome his own pit crew.
— Dave Moody (@DGodfatherMoody) May 15, 2022
Okay no joke, Bubba Wallace’s pit crew is one of the worst I’ve ever seen at this point lmao.
— Jacob Bell (@TheJacobBell77) May 15, 2022
Sad to say it, but your pit crew was a competent as the average @McDonalds drive through. Every time you would drive the mofo to the top 5 they would screw you over as bad as getting a Filet o Fish when you ordered a Big Mac. Denny and MJ should look at firing a few.
— Bobby Padgett (@blpadge2) May 16, 2022
Bubba Wallace drove to a top 10 after being sent to the back twice for pit crew penalties, can you say the same about any other driver today?
— An Ape Throwing Coleslaw? (@yungtw1z) May 15, 2022
bubba wallace doesn't have a pit crew, he has a mid crew
— Phil Clark (@phil_clark) May 15, 2022
Bubba you had an amazing day today even though your pit crew threw away a win or top 5, proud of you! The W is coming soon!
— B.W.Nation (@ChanceBoyle4) May 16, 2022
Bubba Wallace's pit crew after making another catastrophic mistake #AdventHealth400 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Z8ruS7F43i
— Mack III (Champions of CONCACAF!) (@MackErvin7) May 15, 2022
What could have been. He delivered an outstanding result considering the continual subpar performance of his pit crew.
— Bill Lester (@Bill_Lester) May 16, 2022
“We’re a joke.” – @BubbaWallace
Can’t blame him. Has a winning car and his crew has let him down every time down pit road #NASCAR
— Blake McCandless (@MrF4Speed) May 15, 2022
@dennyhamlin new pit crew for Bubba Wallace?
— Eric Novak (@EricNovak13) May 16, 2022
