Although he advanced to the Round of 12, without a win this season and few playoff points, Wallace could really use a victory to ensure his improbable playoff run continues.
For a lot of Sunday’s race, it looked quite possible.
Wallace started on the pole, led a race-high 111 of 267 laps and had control of the lead on a restart with six laps to go.
The driver of 23XI Racing’s No. 23 Toyota chose the outside lane to start and got side-by-side with Chase Briscoe, with William Byron lined up behind Briscoe.
Briscoe went deep into the turn on the restart, going up the track, which edged Wallace deeper to the outside. That opened the inside lane, which Byron dove down to take and use to pass both for the lead.
Byron then held off a late charge from Ross Chastain for the win as Wallace fell back to third.
“Third time I fooled myself starting on top. These guys gave me the right information,” a dejected Wallace said after the race. “[Briscoe] was tight and he sent it off in there. Wasn’t going to stick, but that’s what he’s going to do.
“We’re racing for a win. I just hate it. I should have just kept my line into (Turn) 3 and forced William to get tight. But we’re so vulnerable in these cars, right? Just upset with myself.
“Really needed a win there, and it was a good showing. I don’t know where that puts us. I don’t really care. But I know what I did, and I choked.”
Wallace did come out of the race in a much better position in the playoff standings than how he started this round, but he remains one of the four drivers lowest in points without a win with two races left in the Round of 12 – next week at Talladega and the following week at the Charlotte Roval.
Wallace is the first driver below the cutoff line, two points behind Kyle Larson, who currently occupies eighth place.
In his Cup career, he has typically struggled on road courses but has performed well on superspeedways and owns a win at Talladega, so another strong finish – or even a win – is still possible in this round.
Asked what he had taken away from Sunday’s race heading into the next two races, Wallace said, “You’ve just got to process things slower. I feel like I’ve made a massive improvement in that, processing things a little bit better, but when it comes down to crunch time, you have to keep it all in check,” he said.
“The best restarter in the game gives it up on a restart. Funny how that works. We grinded, come out with a good solid points today. Appreciate everybody’s support and effort, and we’ll go on to Talladega.”
