Toyota GAZOO Racing – Bubba Wallace
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
CHARLOTTE (August 27, 2025) – 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace was made available to the media on Wednesday as part of NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Media Day.
BUBBA WALLACE, No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing
Was there a particular driver you looked forward to racing against when you first came into the Cup Series?
“Yeah, I remember filling in and running the Daytona July race and it was cool racing Jimmie (Johnson). I remember it was like Jimmie (Johnson), (Ryan) Blaney, me and (Corey) LaJoie kind of all right there together at one point and I was like, ‘Damn, that’s pretty cool racing against seven-time.’ I think I even said that over the radio. And so, to be able to race against him a handful of years was cool. He’s been a great mentor and a friend for me. Just a guy to just have a natural conversation with. He’s a lot of fun to be around. He’s an all-around good dude. I think we all know that in this room. Yeah, I’d say that would be the one.”
There’s probably a kid right now coming through the ranks who thinks the same way about you. How does that make you feel?
“Makes me feel old (laughter). I hope to have that experience. I hope to continue to race for a long time and get to experience that. I think it would be pretty cool.”
What kind of impact do you feel like the group of drivers who came in around the same time as you have made on the sport?
“I imagine it could be the same as the previous generation, but I often sit there, whether it’s in the driver’s meeting or walking around to the pre-race grid or standing on the stage – what it was like 15 years ago. Because you look and it’s just Kyle (Busch) and Denny (Hamlin) from really that era. You can throw Brad (Keselowski) in I guess too – and (Joey) Logano was a little bit later. But, yeah, I think it’s kind of bizarre that it’s a bunch of young kids and now it’s like, it’s our time. So, it’s kind of cool that it’s just kind of gone through that transition, but I often think about what it was like 15 or 20 years ago.”
What does success look like for the 23 team over the next 10 races?
“We’re not settled on the Indy win. It was a great opportunity that we capitalized on to set ourselves up for the ultimate goal, which is what we had in store at the beginning of the year which was to be a champion. And so immediately after Indy, I skipped the next four or five – whatever it was – and looked at the Playoffs. Honestly, got really excited about each and every race that’s coming up. I don’t look at any round as, ‘Oh man, this might be a struggle for us.’ Then, I also look at the Playoff field the last couple weeks and man, no one is really running away from it if I want to echo Denny (Hamlin). Yeah, you can’t run away from it if you reset the points every time. But, man, no one’s had like a breakout. You have a guy who can get on a hot streak for a couple races and then it’s somebody else. I think we’re all in for a treat – drivers and spectators – for just how this Playoffs is going to go. I don’t feel like 2023 Playoff Bubba. Where like, ‘Oh man, it’s cool to be talking to you guys for Playoff media day.’ I feel like I belong here and want to continue this trend and have the upmost confidence in our team and our ability and potential to carry this into making a deep run into the Playoffs. It all started back in February, but everything just ramps up another notch for the next 10 weeks.”
What do you have to do to differentiate yourself from other drivers to break out of that pack?
“Beat them. Be the top guy. I think if you can manage your race and solely focus on what you have going on for a weekend. Not get lost when the 12 car is blistering fast on the long run pace. We already know that. We’ve been working hard to minimize that gap. Focus on your race. Focus on getting the upmost speed out of your car, pushing the potential each and every lap. The more you focus on yourself, I think the better your chances are. You get to manage your expectations, you get to manage your emotions and just enjoy the moment.”
Can your team win in the Playoffs?
“Absolutely. Hell, I’m good at winning in the Playoffs when I’m not in the Playoffs. Like I said, I look at the schedule and there’s a lot of good tracks for us coming up. We’ve had speed at almost every track on the circuit for the next 10 weeks, so it just takes that little bit more. It takes beating out the 5 (Kyle Larson), the 24 (William Byron), the 11 (Denny Hamlin). It takes beating the other 15 guys you’re racing against to do that. And, yes, we’ve had the speed to do that. We’ve got to clean up the execution standpoint and go capitalize on that.”
How much better prepared do you feel going into the Playoffs this year compared to 2023?
“Hell, I came off a 26-week stretch of stress and we made it in. We were the last car in, right. You get Sunday to enjoy it, but then you’re back into, ‘Alright, here’s the Playoffs.’ Now, I just came off a month-long stress-free stretch. So, I think getting to experience that was really, really nice. I said for a month, I didn’t care. I didn’t care if we won, if we wrecked, whatever. But I didn’t care in a good way. I care so much about racing that I can often get lost on where you’re at and that causes problems. It causes frustration, it causes speed loss, it causes everything. And I think showing up – Richmond is a good example. We show up for practice, and we were awful. And I was like, ‘Well, Saturday’s going to be a long day.’ Okay, then we’re leading. Okay, you know. I didn’t write off Richmond, but I kind of just changed the approach like, ‘Be ready to work hard here for 10th place.’ And you just kind of take a step back and you can analyze things better, you slow things down, the processes of everything and next thing you know you’re up there leading and have a dominant car. So, I really look at Richmond as a big, big highlight for me and the mentality side of it. Yeah, we have to have just 10 weeks of that – with all four tires.”
How do you minimize mistakes during the first round of the Playoffs?
“I mean, if you can just do what you’ve been doing. We’ve talked about our pit crew. They’ve been second best, if not the best on pit road all year long and so it’s not like we need them to find this extra thing for the next 10 weeks. No, just go back to what you were doing. Do what you were doing. So, I’m excited to see everybody just execute to the level that they’re supposed to. And it’s individually. It takes a whole team to get to where we’re at. And to see everybody wake up on Sunday mornings, look themselves in the mirror and say, ‘I’ve gotta do my job and rise to the occasion. Not leave any stones unturned.’ I’m excited for that and I have the upmost faith and confidence in every person on the 23 car that they will do that. And if things don’t go the way they’re supposed to then it’s okay. Things are going to happen the way they’re supposed to. That’s what I’m saying.”
How big a part of the skillset is fuel saving for you and other drivers in the series?
“Yeah, everybody can save fuel but there’s drivers who can save fuel better than the others. I think we’re one of the top at saving fuel, but there hasn’t been much study into that. It’s just looking at our camp and what we’re able to do. You have to have the right people behind the scenes giving you the right information to help you do that and so I think we have a good engineering background of analyzing all of the data and what we need to do to capitalize on fuel saving efforts when those chances come about.”
Why are you good at fuel saving? Are there tricks that you’ve learned?
“No, there’s nothing to it. They just tell me to list and I lift, and they tell me to go and I go. I‘m just following what they’re doing, and I think it’s more so them understanding the data and trusting in it. And then saying, ‘Hey, go prove that the data is right.’ And it is. So, it’s more a of a testament to my engineers.”
Do you practice fuel saving?
“Where? (laughter) I’ve got a hybrid Toyota Tundra that shuts off at the stop lights so that practices it for me. But, no, no practicing. It’s just a lot of studying and a lot of data.”
What do you think are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?
“Biggest strength – I think mentality is my biggest strength. You guys probably wouldn’t give me that trait a couple of years ago. I feel good where I’m at. I feel confident where I’m at. My weakness – I think is the heat of the moment scenarios. I guess it goes with mentality too – how do you react to that. We will go with that.”
How have you noticed everything grow at 23XI?
“Yeah, it has been a lot of moving parts and a lot of stress for a lot of people I’m sure, but everyone really seems to be rolling their sleeves up and appreciating the work that is in front of them and capitalizing on it. We’ve gotten better and better, I feel like, each and every weekend. Sometimes you get a little lost and bounce back, but the bounce backs, the perseverance that we have has been really, really strong. So from top down, we’ve executed from a lot of different levels, so I appreciate everyone at 23XI, Airspeed – their work continues each and every day, even in the offseason – continuing to work to find speed and to find that advantage that we are looking for, and I think we have a lot of key people in a lot of key spots – that speaks volumes to the hiring process and what it takes to get those people. It is an ever-evolving assembly line, that continues to get bigger and grow.”
Does your mentality change go to the crew chief change this year?
“Yeah, I’ll give Charles (Denike, crew chief) a lot of credit. He has really been a lot of fun to work with, and I feel like we vibed and meshed really quick. He has my back on a lot of scenarios, and I appreciate that. Bootie (Barker, former crew chief) did as well, so none of that is going against Bootie. We’ve continued to have fun at the race track. That is the main thing I told him when we had our meeting in the offseason. I only have one goal in mind – is to have fun. Let everything else sit in its own place. I think he has adapted to that. From Truck to Cup is an incredible step, but I try not to put too much on his plate. If the time needs it, then sure I will, but he has just adapted really well, and I think that has helped me drive smarter and have better races and ultimately get back to victory lane. He is incredible at what he does. There is still a lot of room for us to grow, but I’m excited for the future.”
Did he have any team building activities when he started?
“No. We didn’t. We need to do more of that, but he is a big team player regardless. I think you have people that put the team before themselves, and can kind of get people to rally behind you. Bootie (Barker, former crew chief) was great at that, and I think Charles (Denike, crew chief) is another rendition of that, and it is awesome to see. He can get you ready for battle.”
How is this version of Bubba Wallace different than the last Bubba Wallace that made the Playoffs?
“I had just gotten through 26 weeks of stress, made the Playoffs and one day to enjoy making the Playoffs and it was here talking to you guys about what is the pressure like, what is the stress like (laughter) – well, I’ve been living it, so it hasn’t really died down. It has kind of ramped back up for me, now, that the Playoffs have started, but I think just enjoying it. I was literally showing up here feeling like the new kid that changed schools and made new friends, and kind of lost being at Playoff media day. I missed you guys.”
Do you feel like 23XI is treated fairly with the legal issues?
“No issues. I have not had anything.”
Do you have any concern that NASCAR would not want to see a 23XI car win the championship?
“No. I don’t see that at all. It would be really selfish if that was the case, but no. I feel like when we show up to the track, we have equal opportunities and equal chances, just like the other 38, 40 guys that are out there. All good.”
How does the addition of Gateway and New Hampshire change those earlier rounds?
“We knew the schedule at the beginning of the year, so I think it would be different and more of a story if you didn’t know where we were going for the Playoffs before they started, and then it would be like boom, here we go. But we knew the schedule ahead of time, and after Indy, you look at the schedule and you circle the ones where you might have a little bit more of a challenge. Gateway is one of those because we don’t have numbers there. Loudon, back and forth on that place, but it is another race.”
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[…] He added, “I remember it was like Jimmie [Johnson], [Ryan] Blaney, me, and [Corey] LaJoie kind of all right there together at one point, and I was like, ‘Damn, that’s pretty cool racing against seven-time.’ I think I even said that over the radio. And so, to be able to race against him a handful of years was cool. He’s been a great mentor and a friend for me.” […]