Bubba Wallace is having an up-and-down 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Wallace, driving the No. 23 car for 23XI Racing, is currently in 10th place in the Cup Series standings. He has one top five finish and six top 10 finishes. Meanwhile, he’s yet to get a victory.
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However, his teammate, Tyler Reddick, has been dominating. The driver of the No. 45 car for 23XI Racing has five wins and eight top five finishes. Reddick has nine top 10s in just 12 starts, too.
But how do Wallace’s bosses think he’s doing?
Mar 29, 2026; Martinsville, Virginia, USA; 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace (23) during practice at Martinsville Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images© Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images.
Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, who own 23XI Racing together, are mostly happy with Wallace’s performance so far.
Of course, they’d like to see more results.
Wallace’s bosses open up about his performance
Hamlin thinks that the speed is there for Wallace, just not the results.
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“I think he’s right on pace from where we expect him to be,” Hamlin told On3 about Wallace. “I think that again, he’s had some tough breaks early on, but the speed is there. That’s what I really look at is like, where’s your pace? Where’s your average running position? All those things really, really matter to overall performance. So I think that he’s where he needs to be to make a deep playoff run, and that’s all we can ask.”
Meanwhile, Hamlin has been happy with Reddick. He’s also happy with the changes to NASCAR’s championship format.
“I think that they hit a home run with it, and it’s not fluff, and everyone knows that I’m not afraid to be critical of decisions that are made in rule changes, but I think that it’s rewarding the best. Hamlin said about NASCAR changing the championship format. “Tyler Reddick’s been the best. I feel like we’ve been the next best. And if you look at the standings, it’s in order of where it should be.”
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Wallace and his team will look to have a big second half of the year.
This story was originally published by The Spun on May 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the NASCAR section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
