NASCAR Cup Series veteran Bubba Wallace said he is happy for the recent on-track success of teammate Tyler Reddick during a recent interview, though that doesn’t mean he is satisfied with a winless start to 2026.
By winning five races in the first nine starts of the season, Tyler Reddick has not only placed his name alongside a rare group in NASCAR history, but he has also turned up the heat across the garage. Success at that level raises the bar and, in the process, tightens the screws on everyone else, especially teammates, such as 23XI Racing veteran Bubba Wallace.
Across the field, Chevrolet and Ford teams have felt the ripple effect from Reddick and, therefore, Toyota’s dominance. But within 23XI Racing, the spotlight falls on Wallace as the only other winning driver on their roster.
Last season, Wallace delivered a win at the Brickyard 400, securing the first crown jewel win for the team, while Reddick went without a win amid personal struggles involving his younger child. This year, however, the situation has flipped completely. Reddick has been stacking wins, while Wallace continues to search for that same breakthrough.
That, of course, does not mean Wallace has been off the pace of Reddick.
In the early stretch of the season, the No. 23 was among the top two teams in the standings with the No. 45 for several weeks, and, after nine races, he still sits eighth in the standings with 275 points after his strong start to the year.
Speaking with veteran Crew Chief turned NASCAR analyst Steve Letarte this week, Wallace addressed the situation with candor, calling 23XI’s success “incredible. suggesting that this record-breaking run for the No. 45 could have developed from Reddick’s winless 2025 campaign.
“All of a sudden, it’s like, who lit a fire under his ass, right? And I think he took going winless to heart. I did it for three years. And it’s just hard, man. This sport is so hard, and I think the conversations that we had with leadership and just getting the preseason meetings kicked off just kind of lit a fire in everybody.
Wallace also spoke about the dynamic between the two drivers, noting that their relationship has held firm over the past four years and that he is happy for Reddick and 23XI as a whole.
While Wallace says there is no animosity towards the success of the No. 45 camp, he’s still wondering when it will be his team’s turn to take owners Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan to victory lane.
“I’ve had no ‘man, why him,’ none of that. It’s just, ‘man, when’s it our turn?’ And it’s not a woe-is-me thing. It is understanding how tough this sport is. And when you’re on it, you’re on it.” — Bubba Wallace
Even so, Wallace made it clear that the team is working its way back into form.
Through nine races, he has recorded one top-five finish and five top-10 results. On their own, those numbers carry big weight. But when placed alongside Reddick’s run, Wallace’s stats, to the surprise of a few, fall short, as the No. 45 team has set a new standard within 23XI.
Nonetheless, Wallace says, despite two misses at earlier races this year, including one that Reddick went on to win, the No. 23 team is getting back into winning condition as the year rolls on.
“We’re close, man,” Walace said. We gave up two races there, Darlington and Martinsville, but we’re getting back into form.
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