It’s no secret that Bubba Wallace might have the worst pit crew in all of the NASCAR Cup Series. I mean, they’ve been a complete liability all season long.
Things truly began to unravel when his pit crew killed his chances of winning the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas, when they were handed an uncontrolled tire violation, and had to watch his 23XI Racing teammate Kurt Busch take the victory.
However, Wallace tried his best to keep it together, and refused to point fingers at the time. He tweeted after the race:
“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”
With that being said, it appears that he’s finally fed up with his detrimental crew, as he told his crew chief this past Sunday at Nashville:
“You motherfuckers… leave me the fuck alone, dude. Don’t talk to me the rest of the race.”
Yeah, that’s not good…
He was upset that his crew realized one of the tires they had just replaced was too loose and told him to stop, which caused him to get rear-ended by Tyler Reddick, come back down pit road, and lose a ton of track position.
Yeah, I’d be done with them too…
Crew Chief Bootie Barker tried to talk him down once again:
“We’re not out of it. Keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll be just fine. I know you are pissed and you deserve to be.”
And it continued:
Now, Kurt Busch is trying to keep his fellow teammate levelheaded:
Busch told reporters on Tuesday:
“I’m like, ‘Hey man, I’ve been there. I’m right there with you. I’m a racer. I’m passionate. We just have to get to that next level of professionalism.
I’ve made those mistakes, and he’s making those mistakes and yet, it’s still a matter of just relying on all elements and all people within the team.
So yes, I’m involved. But Bootie Barker is the leader of the 23 car. You know, we’ve got Denny (Hamlin) as our team owner and Michael (Jordan).
Everybody’s circling around on what the real core issue is. And that’s the consistency on the pitstops with the 23 car. So Bubba is right, but we just got to get that problem fixed. And we got to handle it the right way.”
Busch also admitted that the advice he’s giving Wallace now, is the advice he was given when he kickstarted his NASCAR career:
“Early in my career, I just, I wish I would have comprehended more from Mark Martin. He was always there to help. When I asked questions, and when he would give advice, it was genuine.
That’s what I found through my crew chiefs. It’s always the crew chief that’s going to give you the most genuine leadership answer. And so that’s what Bubba needs to do.
It’s what we all need to do is just circle around the crew chiefs here, as well as JGR, and rely on their experience levels to help build this whole Toyota group together.”
Busch also expressed his sympathy for Wallace after the race this past Sunday:
“It’s just such bad luck for that 23 car. I haven’t seen anything like it.”
Bubba will look to turn it around this weekend at Road America for the Kwik Trip 250 in Elkhart, Wisconsin.
