Bubba Wallace commenced his third career Chase run with a strong eighth-place result along with a chunk of stage points following the 2026 Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, September 6.
The 2025 Brickyard 400 champion from Mobile, Alabama, took the green flag from 17th place and spent the early portions methodically carving his way up towards the top-15 and top-10 marks. Following a strategic call to pit later than a majority of the front-runners, Wallace, who had at least five laps of fresher tires than the competition, motored his No. 23 Xfinity/23XI Racing Toyota Camry XSE entry up as high as second place on the track before the first stage’s conclusion. By then, he accumulated nine stage points.
In the opening laps of the second stage period, Wallace had his teammate Tyler Reddick within his sights for the lead as the former was mired in the runner-up spot. Then during another cycle of green flag pit stops that commenced just past the Lap 140 mark, Wallace opted to pit a lap after Reddick pitted. This allowed the former to make up the deficit he had to reel in, overtake Reddick on the track and cycle to the lead on Lap 155. Wallace led the next 32 laps before he ignited another cycle of green flag pit stops by being the first to pit on Lap 186. By the time Wallace blended back on the racetrack, he was outdueled by four competitors on tire advantages and settled in fifth place at the second stage’s conclusion, which still awarded the No. 23 driver six stage points.
During the start of the third and final stage period, Wallace trailed Kyle Larson from the runner-up spot in the early portions. As the event shifted into nighttime racing, Wallace began to lose ground of the lead and he even slipped outside of the top-10 mark while the laps dwindled. During an extensive caution period that first flew with 52 laps remaining, Wallace navigated his way back into the top 10 in eighth place following a pit stop with the field during the caution. Ultimately, he navigated his way through two late-race restarts, including the final one with 24 laps remaining, to claim eighth place when the checkered flag flew.
With the result, Wallace notched his sixth top-10 result in a Cup event at Darlington and his 12th top-10 result of the 2026 season. The 38 total laps Wallace led during the event are the most he has led in a Cup event at Darlington, overall. The on-track performance and result left Wallace satisfied amid the humid temperatures that lingered from daytime to nighttime and the latter period that prevented Wallace from remaining out in front to contend for the victory.
“[I had] Just a really good clean day,” Wallace said on USA Network. “Pleasantly pleased with how our Xfinity Toyota Camry was in the daytime. And then nighttime, we just got too tight and we were just OK. I hate that we gave up a little bit of pace there in the end, but all in all, come out of here with a solid effort, good points day. It was fun running up front with Tyler [Reddick]. Great for 23XI [Racing].”
“This place is one of a kind,” Wallace added. “It’s so unique. Hit the reset button. Look forward to Gateway. Lot of pace there. Looking forward to that.”
Prior to this year’s Southern 500, Wallace was ranked in 13th place in the 2026 Chase standings with 2,010 points. After the event, he utilized his overall eighth-place run and 15 stage points notched between the first two stage periods to gain three spots in the standings to 10th place. With the first Chase event of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season in the recordbooks, Wallace sets his sights on maintaining his momentum from Darlington to be in championship contention throughout the remaining nine postseason events.
“[There is a] Long way to go [in the Chase],” Wallace said. “We know what we’re capable of when we can have clean races like tonight. It’s easier to work on cars and give better feedback when we have clean races. So, keep doing that and wherever we end up, we end up.”
Bubba Wallace’s 2026 Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series championship resumes next Sunday, September 6, at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300. The event’s broadcast time is slated to commence at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
