Bubba Wallace has a history of being hard on himself, maybe a bit too hard on himself at times. After crashing out early in Sunday’s race at Circuit of the Americas, it sure seemed to be the case.
On Lap 11, Wallace could not slow down heading into Turn 12. Unfortunately, Kyle Larson was the driver in front, and Wallace drilled into Larson, turning him and forcing Erik Jones to go wide.
Kyle Larson gets slammed by Bubba Wallace and then Larson cuts in front of Denny Hamlin, getting turned by Hamlin on the way to pit road. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/hKjjaXmPYT
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 26, 2023
Looking at the replay, it looked like it was a mechanical issue as Wallace’s tires were squealing, but the car wasn’t slowing down. However, during his midrace interview, Wallace chalked it up to another “rookie mistake” and talked about needing to be replaced.
Bubba Wallace: "Just trying my hardest not to go down that slippery slope of self-doubt right here. Two weeks in a row, making rookie mistakes, six years in the Cup. Need to be replaced.” #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/ybwfrTsl2z
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 26, 2023
Wallace said, “Broke toe-link in the rear and an oil line. Just trying my hardest not to go down that slippery slope of self-doubt right here. Two weeks in a row, making rookie mistakes, six years in the Cup. Need to be replaced.”
Wallace alluded to last week’s race in Atlanta, where he spun without help early in the race and never could get back on the lead lap.
Guest analyst Kurt Busch, Wallace’s teammate last season, said Wallace was too hard on himself. Busch is right, Wallace can be too hard on himself, and his negativity isn’t going to make things better. It’s one thing to self-reflect and look at the bad as a means to correct and get better, but dwelling on the negative for the sake of dwelling on the negative isn’t going to work.
If anyone is going to be understanding of what Wallace did, it’s Kyle Larson. Larson had an issue at last year’s Indianapolis road course race. Larson failed to slow down entering Turn 1, and plowed into Ty Dillon in a similar fashion.
Speaking of Larson, he had more issues as when he tried to get to pit road, Larson cut in front of Denny Hamlin and was turned by the 23XI Racing co-owner. Larson was able to continue, and finished seventh after Stage 2.
