Wallace's final block goes awry and lets EchoPark victory slip away

Bubba Wallace threw an untold number of blocks Sunday at EchoPark Speedway, but it was the final one that didn’t work.

“No doubt,” Wallace told RACER and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio of not being able to block them all.

Wallace was the leader going into the second overtime attempt and was pushed clear of the field off Turn 2 by 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick. But when Wallace decided to swing from the bottom to the outside lane, led by Carson Hocevar, he shifted the momentum to where Wallace ended up too wide, and Hocevar was able to pull left and get underneath him.

It created a brief three-wide situation between Wallace, Hocevar and Reddick. However, the momentum and help were gone and Wallace, all along, ended up being shuffled to eighth place by the checkered flag.

“I think – I was just talking to the team here – I created a hole and allowed those two to get underneath me,” Wallace said. “Unfortunate. Man, I thought we had it, but that’s racing. It ain’t over until it’s over.

“It’s unfortunate, but our Xfinity Toyota Camry was so damn fast. I’ve struggled here and, man, I have nothing to complain about. So, incredible day. A good day for the team, obviously, Tyler getting another win. A good points day for us. So, let’s keep it going.”

Wallace led the third-most laps in the Autotrader 400 with 46 circuits at the front. He also won the second stage. But if Wallace wasn’t leading, he wasn’t far from the picture as he earned an average running position of sixth.

Ross Chastain, however, said Wallace “was the best car” in the field. Wallace and Reddick combined to lead 99 of 271 laps.

“It was awesome,” said Wallace of his car. “I knew about lap 30 when I moved to the bottom and started charging forward, ‘Oh, this is a really good car.’ I just wanted to make sure I did everything to not jeopardize our day and end up worse than what we did. So, another top 10 is great. Damn, I wish we were in victory lane again, but 36 more.”

Wallace was in contention for the race win and a total of 86 laps led in the first two races of the season. He finished in the top 10 in both races and sits second in points to teammate Reddick.

“COTA is next,” laughed Wallace, who has not won on a road course but continues to work toward better finishes. “We’ll go have some fun.”