Freddie Kraft, the spotter for Bubba Wallace, was not too bummed out about the No. 23 Toyota losing a wheel on pit road at Richmond. On the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Kraft reacted to the incident that happened during the final stage of the NASCAR Cup Series race.
“We had so many tires we were going to leave one on pit road,” Freddie Kraft said jokingly. “A gut punch. Thank God we won the race at Indy because they would have been a filler if Austin [Dillon] wins and we were there. Our car was so fast, and then we come down pit road and unfortunately lose a wheel. It was the perfect scenario. It followed us to the pit box.”
After losing the wheel, Bubba Wallace stopped at the pit box for Chase Briscoe, as the two are Toyota teammates. Briscoe’s team got the wheel back on the car, and Wallace finished the race. It was an unfortunate situation for Wallace because he finished 28th after leading the majority of the race.
Bubba Wallace has been racing strong lately
“Obviously, that ruined our day,” Kraft added. “It’s one of those days where if you got a fast car like that, it almost hurts less. I don’t know if we could have beat the three (Dillon). They had that thing all jazzed up like they always do at Richmond. It hurts, but we were fast. Hopefully, we can carry that speed.”
Kraft is right when it comes to Indy. Because Wallace won the Brickyard 400, he is heading to the playoffs, so the incident at Richmond doesn’t sting as much for the No. 23 team as it could.
Outside of Richmond, Wallace has been on a roll as the regular season winds down. In the last five races, the 31-year-old has finished in the top 10 four times. Wallace earned a P7 finish at Dover, won Indy, finished sixth at Iowa and eighth at Watkins Glen.
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series regular season ends on Saturday when the drivers compete in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona. Wallace will look to finish the regular season strong to move up in the playoff standings and give himself a better chance to advance to the second round.
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