Bubba Wallace has been mired in a frustrating season this year, and he hasn’t been afraid to show it.
The NASCAR veteran said his performance last week at Daytona was “unacceptable” after he finished sixth but missed out on a win to secure a spot in the postseason.
He’s let his emotions out all season long, including when he door-slammed Alex Bowman on the cooldown lap after the Chicago Street Race to draw a $50,000 fine.
On Saturday, he had a different emotion on display after his best qualifying performance of the season.
Bubba Wallace wins Southern 500 pole at Darlington
Wallace took his first pole of the season in Saturday’s qualifying at Darlington, running a 167.143 mph lap to earn a spot on the front row in Sunday’s Southern 500.
It couldn’t come at a better time for the 23XI Racing driver, who sits 17th in the standings – one spot below the playoff cut line – heading into this weekend’s regular-season finale. Barring a miracle, it’s win-or-go-home for the No. 23 team.
“I think the pressure just switched,” Wallace said of being on the playoff bubble. “We’re not here to mess around.”
This will be the second time Wallace starts on the front row this season after he qualified second at Martinsville. He finished fourth in that race, his best result of the season.
It was the third time Wallace has qualified in the top 10 in the last four weeks. He’s finished in the top six in three of his last five races but is still looking for that elusive checkered flag after Harrison Burton won his first career race at Daytona.
If he doesn’t capture it this weekend, Chris Buescher stands to benefit as the final driver in the top 16 in the standings. He sits 21 points above Wallace and qualified 10th on Saturday.
READ MORE: Five-win NASCAR driver ‘adamant’ he will not change approach with playoffs in reach
Darlington qualifying results, NASCAR starting lineup for Southern 500
Rookie Carson Hocevar, another driver looking for his first win of the season, will join Wallace on the front row for the Southern 500. Chase Briscoe will shoot for his first win from the third spot, while former NASCAR champions Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. round out the top five.
Wallace’s 23XI teammate Tyler Reddick will start sixth as he seeks the regular-season championship over Larson and Chase Elliott, who will start 20th.
READ MORE: Tyler Reddick to feature 3 GOATs in Upper Deck paint scheme at Darlington
Here’s a look at the full qualifying results and starting grid for Sunday’s race, which begins at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network:
- Bubba Wallace (No. 23) – 23XI Racing
- Carson Hocevar (No. 77) – Spire Motorsports
- Chase Briscoe (No. 14) – Stewart-Haas Racing
- Kyle Larson (No. 5) – Hendrick Motorsports
- Martin Truex Jr. (No. 19) – Joe Gibbs Racing
- Tyler Reddick (No. 45) – 23XI Racing
- Ryan Blaney (No. 12) – Team Penske
- William Byron (No. 24) – Hendrick Motorsports
- Christopher Bell (No. 20) – Joe Gibbs Racing
- Chris Buescher (No. 17) – RFK Racing
- Austin Cindric (No. 2) – Team Penske
- Brad Keselowski (No. 6) – RFK Racing
- Ty Gibbs (No. 54) – Joe Gibbs Racing
- Denny Hamlin (No. 11) – Joe Gibbs Racing
- Josh Berry (No. 4) – Stewart-Haas Racing
- Austin Dillon (No. 3) – Richard Childress Racing
- Kyle Busch (No. 8) – Richard Childress Racing
- John Hunter Nemechek (No. 42) – Legacy Motor Club
- Corey LaJoie (No. 7) – Spire Motorsports
- Chase Elliott (No. 9) – Hendrick Motorsports
- Justin Haley (No. 51) – Rick Ware Racing
- Ross Chastain (No. 1) – Trackhouse
- Joey Logano (No. 22) – Team Penske
- Harrison Burton (No. 21) – Wood Brothers Racing
- Daniel Hemric (No. 31) – Kaulig Racing
- Zane Smith (No. 71) – Spire Motorsports
- Alex Bowman (No. 48) – Hendrick Motorsports
- Erik Jones (No. 43) – Legacy Motor Club
- Noah Gragson (No. 10) – Stewart-Haas Racing
- Ryan Preece (No. 41) – Stewart-Haas Racing
- Michael McDowell (No. 34) – Front Row Motorsports
- Daniel Suarez (No. 99) – Trackhouse
- Todd Gilliland (No. 38) – Front Row Motorsports
- Shane van Gisbergen (No. 16) – Kaulig Racing
- Kaz Grala (No. 15) – Rick Ware Racing
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 47) – JTG Daughtery Racing
- Timmy Hill (No. 66) – Hill Motorsports