Following a race that featured a Gateway record and season-high 18 cautions, Bubba Wallace voiced what many drivers were surely feeling after Sunday's grueling NASCAR Cup race at WWT Raceway (Gateway).
Wallace finished 14th, despite spinning twice in a chaotic race. Of the nine drivers who failed to reach the checkered flag, five of them were Chase drivers. All three 23XI Racing drivers were involved in multiple incidents, and Wallace ended up as the highest-finisher for his organization.
Early in the race, Wallace got booted out of the top ten after contact from Ross Chastain, and soon after, got booted up the track again by Daniel Suarez, dropping him to nearly 30th in the running order.
He fought back to the front, only to collide with Chase Briscoe in a four-wide restart battle on Lap 141, competing for a spot inside the top five. They both spun, and Wallace was hit directly in left-front by William Byron, needing repairs.
Later, he was back at the front fighting over sixth place when he, Josh Berry, and Christopher Bell all came together at the exit of Turn 2. Wallace's teammate Tyler Reddick got some air as he was collected, and Wallace went spinning down the backstretch. The No. 23 was nevertheless able to continue.
A MASSIVE WRECK LATE IN THE RACE. đš
â NASCAR on USA (@NASCARonUSA) September 13, 2026
đș /đ± : USA Network pic.twitter.com/1Nd8cpCdwo
"Oh my God ... I need to go back and look," said Wallace in a post-race media scrum featuring Motorsport.com and several other outlets. "I can only imagine what the other 35 of us are thinking, you know, caution after caution, just trying to get into a rhythm.
"We're all fighting forward and this package was was kind of a handful, but the two instances I had -- I had a great run on the restart of the 19 [Briscoe], and again, this is with me without seeing it all. I I felt like I got crowded. I need to go back and see if I actually had more room to get up or whatnot. So it's just -- we're all fighting for the same real estate.
THIS CHASE RACE IS CHAOS.
â Motorsport (@Motorsport) September 13, 2026
Bubba Wallace triggers a wreck at the start of the final stage! pic.twitter.com/pBUGmQtnqi
"Everybody hit everything out here today. Super frustrating and embarrassing for us as Cup drivers. Now you can't help but brake problems. Those are all an issue within themselves, but just running over people, getting in those. I was a part of multiple and it was frustrating. So just is what it is. We're all aggressive."
Wallace had no theories for why Sunday's race was especially wild. Along with a record 18 cautions for the track, there were also two red flag stoppages in the final stage before ending in double overtime.
Bubba Wallace on a very chaotic day and embarrassment for the whole Cup Series after a race like this one pic.twitter.com/csIvzzfwDt
â Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) September 14, 2026
