Questions Answered After Bubba Wallace Takes The No. 45 To The Next Round

Who… should you be talking about after the race?

The playoffs may have the headlines right now, but two weeks into the NASCAR Cup Series title run, a playoff contender has yet to win a race. Bubba Wallace held off his car owner, Denny Hamlin, handily in the closing laps Sunday (Sept. 11) to win the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. It’s Wallace’s second career win and the third for 23XI Racing.

When Wallace won his first race last fall at Talladega Superspeedway, he played the role of playoff spoiler, and he did it again on Sunday, beating the title contenders and shutting out the possibility of a driver clinching a second-round bid with a win this week. Wallace blew by then-leader Alex Bowman, who led 107 laps on the day, on lap 200. Wallace held and extended his lead through a pit cycle and retook the top spot on lap 225 when the last of the holdouts came in for tires and fuel. Hamlin took over the runner-up spot on the final run but was unable to close on Wallace enough to make an attempt at a pass.

Winners at Kansas🤘🏾@23XIRacing | @RootInsurance | #TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/Y3oNPyBLMi

— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) September 11, 2022

Wallace’s win locks the No. 45 into the next round in the owners’ title hunt, and that’s a big deal. It’s the finish in that battle that determines the value of a charter, as well as the year-end payout for the team. So far Wallace has been up to the challenge.

And don’t forget Bowman. Prior to Sunday, he had scored just two top 10s since the Coca-Cola 600 in May, and his last top five was at Dover Motor Speedway weeks before that. He’d led just 29 laps all year, though some of them were on his way to winning in Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the spring.

Bowman came out swinging at Kansas, though. He had the fastest car in the first half, winning stage two and at times looking unbeatable. His fourth-place finish is his second top 10 in the playoffs and sets him 30 points above the cut with one race left in this round. Once on the short list of drivers most likely to be eliminated next week, Bowman has picked his game up.

What… is the buzz about?

For years, it seemed like the next time we’d cover North Wilkesboro Speedway would be the day they tore the track down. Instead, it was the day the track came back from the brink. After a packed house for a CARS Tour race a couple of weeks ago, it was announced that the track will host the 2023 All-Star Race.

You asked. We listened.