Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, appeared in the latest episode of Door Bumper Clear and revealed something about Shane van Gisbergen’s playoff status. The former Supercars driver from Auckland bagged a race-high four victories this season, his latest one coming at Watkins Glen in August.
The Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway was the opening race of the 10-race playoff segment. Gisbergen entered it 20th and, for much of the feature, struggled with the balance of his Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.
“He couldn’t afford to have that night,” said Kraft (48:00 onwards). “You know what I mean? He was one of the guys …he had, like, a 16-point cushion or whatever coming in, and if he could run top 15, top-20 every week, he could use that, and he’s still right now.”
SVG’s team opted for just one pit stop throughout Stage 3, which had the driver pitting from 20th and re-entering the race with 60 laps to go, two laps down. A P32 is all he could salvage. All said and done, Gisbergen now has only a three-point buffer above the cutoff line.
On the other hand, Bubba Wallace, who started the race eighth, brought home a P6 finish. He sits 25 points above the cut line, with 2049 points (reset ahead of the postseason) to his name. Notably, 2025 marks his eighth full season in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Wallace is the only 23XI Racing driver who made the 2025 playoffs through wins and not on points. His most recent triumph (third overall) came in this year’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Alabama native now has a shot at the ultimate honor: the NASCAR Cup Series championship.
“Nothing to hang our heads about”- Bubba Wallace analyzes his recent Darlington outing
Entering Darlington, the historic egg-shaped oval in South Carolina, Bubba Wallace charged for the win. However, he ended up sixth, marking his 11th top-10 of the season.
That being said, there was no significant damage done to his car even after 367 laps of complete madness.
“Really pleased with the night, nothing to hang our heads about,“ Wallace told Frontstretch (0:39). „Obviously wanted to win, but really happy with sixth and didn’t give up unnecessary points.“
Wallace missed a near collision with fellow Cup driver Zane Smith on pit road at one point. Recalling the incident, the #23 driver said (1:01)
“That was just crazy timing, how it all worked out. Luckily, no damage was done, nobody was hurt. Pit road is treacherous here. I think when we had our mistakes, a lot of people had mistakes too on pit road, so it’s just one of those things you’ve got to be able to rebound and enjoy the moment.”
Next up for Bubba Wallace is the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Scheduled for Sunday, September 7, the 240-lap event will be televised on USA (3 pm ET) with live radio updates on MRN or SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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Edited by Pratham K Sharma
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