It’s the final regular-season race at Darlington in 2024. Bubba Wallace, still winless and sitting below the cutline, looked from the outside like a driver carrying the weight of an entire season on one night. He either needed a win or a flawless points day. And early on, it felt possible. He started on pole, grabbed a runner-up finish in Stage 1, and showed flashes of the speed he’d been chasing for months.

But the No. 23 Toyota grew unpredictable, the handling faded, and a late multi-car crash with 23 laps remaining sealed his fate. Wallace missed the playoffs by 27 points and was visibly frustrated. It was the kind of heartbreak that defined his uneven 2024. Yet 2025 tells a different story. As you may have witnessed, there was a calmer, steadier, more complete version of Bubba Wallace

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