‘It’s time to start throwing Hail Marys’ for Bubba Wallace in The Chase

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor

Riley Ogle Motorsports Today (WWT Raceway 2026)

Avondale, AZ- With the integration of The Chase, it effectively eliminated the ability to have bad days. For Bubba Wallace, his number of good days has been outdone by the better days of championship leaders Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin, making his postseason push a little more difficult.

Ahead of the Freedom Insurance 500, Wallace sees his 185-point deficit to championship leader Larson as an opportunity to take more risks over the last four races of the season.

“I mean, we're at that point where it's time to start throwing Hail Marys,” Wallace said. “ [We’re] not in a panic mode, but what do we got to lose mentality really? We just got to go out and get it.” 

Wallace has shown consistent pace through the first six races of the season. He has four Top-10 finishes and was on for another before Alex Bowman tagged him after losing his car on lap, sending Wallace into the Turn 2 wall on Lap 77 at Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend.

“As long as we continue to put in the effort and execute, and you know where we shake up at the end of the season, and we got to be got to be happy with it,” Wallace said. “As frustrating as it's been sometimes this year, we still are in the chase and have a shot at championship.”  

He looks to top his best championship finish of tenth, from 2023. In his only other postseason appearance, he finished 13th. Wallace sits 11th ahead of the Freeway Insurance 500. 

Unfortunately, he will have to tackle this feat at a racetrack where he hasn’t had the best history. In his last 17 starts at Phoenix, he has three Top-10s, with a best finish of sixth, which he earned during NASCAR’s first trip to the track this year.

"It's just a steady climb in improvement,” Wallace said. “There's a couple spots in front of us that are still pretty attainable." 

Wallace looks to rebound after his Charlotte crash, starting from 23rd for the Freeway Insurance 500. Fans can tune into the action on USA Today at 12:00 pm EST on Sunday.