Bubba Wallace left Kansas Speedway with a ninth-place finish after getting caught in a Lap 122 restart crash during the Hollywood Casino 400. The 23XI Racing driver said he planned to move toward the high lane before Carson Hocevar blocked the move.
Wallace then looked toward the middle, but the field quickly tightened up. Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet made contact with Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota, sending several cars into the inside wall. Wallace, Josh Berry, Erik Jones and Zane Smith were caught in the incident.
Wallace said the crash changed his race, but his team recovered from the damage and used a late strategy call to secure a top-10 finish.
Wallace Explains Kansas Restart Crash
Wallace said he was looking for a way through the restart traffic when the contact happened.
“Yeah, I was gonna shoot top in front of the 22, but he kind of blocked it,” Wallace said. “So it’s good. I was just gonna maybe look at the middle.
“By the time I thought of that, I was already turned. Just to me, it looks like the 77 just hooked a right into the 54.
“But it is what it is.”
The crash followed a caution caused by Noah Gragson’s engine failure. Hocevar and Gibbs made contact as the field returned to green, with Wallace getting caught in the resulting incident.
Hocevar finished 33rd after the damage. After the race, he said he and Gibbs were fighting for the same piece of track and said Gibbs had been in his blind spot.
Kansas Race Leaves Wallace Frustrated
Wallace said the result did not reflect the speed he expected from 23XI Racing at Kansas.
Practice and qualifying were canceled Saturday because of weather, but Wallace still expected a strong showing at a track where the 23XI operation has traditionally placed importance on performance.
Instead, he said the three 23XI cars struggled.
“I mean, obviously lost potential, but in the last two runs of the race, we were really fast,” Wallace said. “So maybe it knocked some good into it. I’m not sure.
“I hate it for our Xfinity team. But, man, when we showed up, we were B plus at best.
“And I think that was the ceiling for all three of our cars, which is unfortunate, at a place where everybody in the shop, everybody at Airspeed, gets excited to come here.
“We just didn’t deliver. So we got to do better.”
Wallace said the team continued working after the restart crash and found the adjustments needed to improve the damaged car.
“But great bounce back from our team. Never gave up.
“Got the right adjustments in it to overcome the damage and came away with a top ten.”
Late Strategy Helps Wallace Reach Top 10
The Kansas race changed again during the final green-flag pit cycle. Wallace stayed on track six laps longer than the leaders before making his final stop.
The strategy gave him fresher tires for the closing laps and helped him move forward to ninth.
“You always want to be on offense. You know, you never want to be the guy that’s hanging on for tires. So I was very appreciative of that call.
“And we know to make the most of it when you’re in that situation. So all in all, hard to hang your head. But a lot of what-ifs still.”
Kyle Larson won the 267-lap race, while Wallace finished ninth despite the earlier damage. Hocevar’s 33rd-place result followed the restart crash.
For Wallace, the Kansas race ended with a top-10 finish, but the Lap 122 restart remained the key moment. His view was clear: Hocevar’s No. 77 moved right into Gibbs’ No. 54, with Wallace becoming one of several drivers caught in the aftermath.
NASCAR Cup Series: Bubba Wallace Blames Carson Hocevar as Kansas Restart Wreck Changes His Race