Since finishing second in the season-opening Daytona 500, Wallace has placed no higher than tenth in any race until this weekend at NHMS.
After starting fourth, Wallace ran up front for most of the event before bringing home a third-place finish for the 23XI Racing team.
“Yeah, I’m just proud of the team, proud of myself, proud of everybody at the shop,” he said post-race. “They brought a — I’m going to give them a “decent” DraftKings Toyota Camry. It didn’t handle that great but it had speed, so we knew that. Just the mental preparation, had to set yourself up for a long day, and we did.
“We had no idea what we were running there at the end. I knew it was inside the top five. But just tire management there at the end and we were able to capitalize. Just proud of everybody. Happy. It’s been hell for me the last month, so good to come out with a top five.”
Wallace’s season has been marred by poor finishes, pit stop issues and just a lot of bad luck. In the first 20 races, he has five DNFs. His teammate, Kurt Busch, is currently locked into the playoffs after winning at Kansas earlier this year.
“This sport humbles you, so there’s really no surprises,” he later added. “You’ve got to keep the task at hand and be mindful of your surroundings and just do your job. As long as you do that, you never know if you’re going to end up with a top three or 20th or whatever it may be. You just stick true to your path.”
Sitting 24th in the championship standings, Wallace is going to need to find Victory Lane in one of the final six races of the regular season in order to make the playoffs. Perhaps Wallace’s top-five in Loudon is a sign of more good things to come for the No. 23 Toyota.
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