Going into Sunday’s Straight Talk 400, Bubba Wallace’s 2025 season had mostly followed a specific script: run well and collect stage points early before being involved in an incident and faltering late.
On Sunday, however, Wallace and the No. 23 team put together a complete day at Homestead-Miami Speedway that culminated in a third-place finish.
Wallace qualified ninth and finished Stage 1 in 12th, but his Toyota Camry came alive in Stage 2. Wallace finished fifth in Stage 2, introducing himself as a player for the race win.
When the pay window opened in Stage 3, Wallace’s No. 23 continued to improve, while his pit crew continued to rip off quick pit stops. After Ryan Blaney’s engine detonated on Lap 207, Wallace’s pit crew got him off pit road first, setting Wallace up as the leader for the ensuing restart.
Wallace was able to pull away from the field on the restart, and while Alex Bowman and race winner Kyle Larson were eventually able to get around him, he brought home a third-place finish on a 40-point day.
“We’ve been getting kicked in the teeth in the last stage of every race,” Wallace told Fox Sports. “To finally close one out, this feels good.”
“I can’t even hang my head about this. As pissed off as I want to be at myself, it’s a good day.”
