Nine spots dropped in eight days. That’s the reality staring down at Bubba Wallace, seven races into the 2026 season. He may have started the season strongly, with top-11 finishes in each of his first five races, but the 23XI Racing driver has dropped off in recent weeks, finishing 34th and 36th at Darlington and Martinsville, respectively.
And now, former NASCAR driver Rick Mast is urging the Alabama native to channel his inner Dale Earnhardt to get his season back on track.
Rick Mast Urges Bubba Wallace to Channel Dale Earnhardt Sr.
There’s a reason the late Earnhardt is considered one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time. His rivals feared seeing that black No. 3 Chevy in their rearview mirrors, which earned Earnhardt the nickname “The Intimidator” in stock car racing circles. And it’s that kind of killer instinct that Mast wants Wallace to develop, not just on the track, but mentally too.
“I don’t know that NASCAR gets enough recognition from a driver standpoint, how cerebral it can be, or how cerebral it really is,” said Mast. “One of the best was Earnhardt Senior. He was one of the best. Very smart on the racetrack.”
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And it’s that kind of instinct that Mast wants Wallace to develop. The 32-year-old was in the middle of a late-race incident at Martinsville Speedway during the Cook Out 400 when he drove deep into the corner at Turn 4 and made contact with Carson Hocevar’s rear bumper. What followed was a chain reaction, with multiple cars being wrecked and Wallace’s race ending prematurely.
“Bubba’s had these things happen, and it happened again at the rarest, ugliest hit,” Mast went on to say. “Bubba [Wallace] hadn’t been causing any problems or anything going wrong, but the way the points are structured now, you can’t worry about winning the race and getting in, man. You’ve got to worry about finishing that race the best you can finish.”
With NASCAR moving away from the “win and in” playoff format, Mast is urging Wallace to focus on consistency rather than taking unnecessary risks on the track. Especially because 23XI Racing has proved that they have the car capable of competing for wins every week, as Wallace’s teammate, Tyler Reddick, has already secured 4 wins in the opening seven races.
However, as things stand, Wallace is 11th in the standings, 147 points behind his teammate. If history is anything to go by, the legendary Earnhardt has proved that there’s a fine line between recklessness and daring. And Wallace needs to find that balance, especially if he wants to go wheel-to-wheel with his teammate for the remainder of this season.
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Wallace has his work cut out, especially with the 2026 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on the horizon. The short track hasn’t always been a happy hunting ground for the racer, who has secured just one top-five finish at the venue in 14 appearances.
However, the No. 23 Toyota has shown glimpses of being lightning-fast this season, especially in Phoenix and Las Vegas. If Wallace can channel his inner Earnhardt, his chances of breaking the 21-race winless streak and challenging for the Bill France Cup increase significantly.