Bubba Wallace gave Michael Jordan advice before his last chance to reach the NASCAR playoffs
The NASCAR Cup Series regular season concludes Sunday at Darlington Raceway, where drivers who have not yet qualified for the playoffs will have one last chance to compete for a title this season.
The top 16 drivers in the overall standings advance to the playoffs and are automatically guaranteed a spot with a win in the regular season. If they do not win a race in the regular season and there are fewer than 16 different winners, the remaining playoff spots are awarded based on position in the overall standings.
With one race left in the 10 playoffs, Bubba Wallace and his No. 23 23XI Racing team are 13th, but with several drivers winning this season, he would be 17th from a playoff perspective and would be the first driver eliminated from the postseason if it began today. His sixth-place finish on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway helped, but he’s not there yet.
As a guest on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast, Wallace discussed his approach to his last chance to qualify for the playoffs and shared advice he received from 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan.
Wallace told Earnhardt:
Wallace explained why he has to pay special attention to stress reduction before races, saying:
“Last year I went to Daytona really stressed. … I think you can get away with it at Daytona. But I think if it had been Darlington, I would have crashed on lap 2. Take a deep breath and understand where we are – we’re not out of the race. If you’re passing the guys you’re racing against, you should beat them. But we’ve got a little more work to do and I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and do that.”
The finale of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season is the Southern 500 on Sunday at Darlington Raceway (6:00 p.m. ET, USA Network).
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This article originally appeared on For The Win: Bubba Wallace gave Michael Jordan advice before his last chance to make the NASCAR playoffs.
