As the Round of 12 kicks off at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the NASCAR garage is alive with speculation about eliminations, and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace finds himself at the center of such discussions, having clinched his playoff spot with a commanding win at the Brickyard 400 back in July. That victory, his first crown-jewel triumph, propelled him into the Round of 16 seeded ninth with a slim two-point cushion above the cutline. With strong finishes at Homestead-Miami and Martinsville this season, Wallace has shown flashes of speed that engrossed the fans. But then came Bristol, and with it, elimination fear…

It saw Wallace finish 34th after getting caught in the chaos, but salvaged 13 points from solid runs in Stages 1 and 2. Now, as the action shifts to New Hampshire for the Mobil 1 301, he sits eighth in the standings, clinging to a one-point buffer above the cutline in this high-stakes elimination format where points reset after each round. True grit emerges under such pressure, and Wallace’s approach in these moments will show how he handles the heat heading into the opener for Round 12. So, is it going to be nerves or confidence?

In a candid chat with Frontstretch ahead of the New Hampshire race, Bubba Wallace brushed aside any notion of playoff jitters, turning the conversation to his steady confidence despite the slim margin. When asked if he was startled by the points reset after the Bristol race, where he entered the elimination race with 50 points to the good only to emerge with a mere one-point edge, Wallace replied, “No, I knew it was coming. Yeah, I knew at first I was 50-something to the good. Before the race, I was like, ‘Do the point reset?’ Damn, they do. So it is what it is. We’re fine.” He added, “What did we start the round with? Plus, 8 or 10? … it wasn’t much, so plus, plus one, plus 2. Same thing. Different numbers.”

Whether it’s a hefty buffer pre-reset or a nail-biting one post-reset, the focus remains on execution, much like his recovery at Bristol through stage points despite the 34th-place finish, where he finished stages 1 and 2 with solid P4 and P8, respectively. It’s a perspective shaped by his second playoff appearance in eight Cup years.

To back up his fearless vibe, Bubba Wallace pointed to Joey Logano‘s trajectory as proof that low seeds can flip the script. The reporter brought up Logano entering a prior round seeded at the P8 spot in the 2024 season after the completion of the Round of 12, and Wallace agreed, “Yeah, thanks,” implying, ‘Look at his success now.’ Logano went on to win the championship in that 2024 season. This nod to Logano’s rebound from tight spots reinforces Wallace’s point: numbers on paper don’t dictate outcomes when you’ve got the team and speed, as seen in Wallace’s own 12 top-10 finishes, 4 top fives with 355 laps this year across 29 races.

Wallace’s take on pressure ties into broader talks about the playoff structure itself. While he stays laser-focused on racing, his views on the format add another layer to his no-nonsense approach.

Bubba Wallace unfazed by format debates

Bubba Wallace has made it clear he’s not getting drawn into debates over NASCAR’s playoff setup, even with rumors swirling about potential changes like a 3/3/4 round split for 2026. In comments during Bristol qualifying, he stressed his priority is simply competing at his best, regardless of the rules.

“You can leave me out of the format talks. If I have a contract and have a car and have a team all this stuff, I’m going to go race whatever it is and try to be the best of that,” Wallace said, highlighting how the current system, three rounds of three races each before the single-race finale, demands adaptation from everyone involved.

Dismissing concerns outright, Wallace doubled down on his indifference, noting that opinions vary, but his job remains unchanged. “I could give two craps about how it is, not dismissing people’s opinions, of course, at all. I hear all that, but we have a job. This is what we are paid to do, and we’re paid to beat the rest, right? And once you do that, you become champion, Cool, doesn’t matter what format it is,” he explained.

This echoes sentiments from others like spotter Freddie Kraft, who sees a middle ground between traditional points chases and the elimination style, but for Wallace, it’s about excelling within whatever framework exists.

Ultimately, Wallace’s stance boils down to action over analysis, suggesting tweaks like carrying points across all rounds instead of full resets to preserve hard-earned advantages. Wallace’s practicality offers a refreshing take, keeping his eye on the prize amid ongoing discussions.