Bubba Wallace earned the pole position for Sunday's race. Jun 4, 2022; Madison, Illinois, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace (23) looks on during Nascar Cup qualifying at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-USA TODAY Sports

The 2023 NASCAR season hasn’t gotten off to a great start for 23XI driver Bubba Wallace. Wallace struggled so far this season and it’s clear it’s weighing on him.

Wallace got so upset with himself that he demanded that he be fired by his bosses for his lousy start.

He had overcooked one of the road course’s 20 corners and barreled into a pair of other drivers. This marked the second straight weekend with a miscue that led to contact. He completed just 10 of the 75 laps.

This led to his outburst, which saw him wanting to be fired. But Dale Earnhardt Jr. thinks that Wallace was a bit too hard on himself and thought he should take a step back.

“I don’t think he really feels that way but he wants us to all know that he’s upset, that he doesn’t think that’s good enough,” he said.

“I think he feels to a point like yeah I have let my team down and I didn’t win the race and they think that the car is good enough and I didn’t get it done but I don’t think Bubba Wallace genuinely thinks that I need to be replaced.”

Wallace admitted he calmed down and expressed that he was just mad at himself.

“I was just mad. I was slamming my fists down on the tables, throwing weights around, all within a controlled environment but releasing anger. Tuesday was rough.

“Thursday we were at the shop for (teammate Tyler) Reddick’s win lunch, which was great, and I got back home and I was working out and it was just kind of like a light switch, OK, we’re back and ready to go.

Wallace finished 23rd in the race at Richmond Sunday. It wasn’t a great finish, but he seems to be back to his old self.

{Dustin Long, Essentially Sports}

About Stacey Mickles

Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.