Bubba Wallace loses ground on NASCAR Playoffs cutline after Verizon 200

Elliott closed the gap a little bit on Wallace, however, it isn’t going to cut it. 80 points in two weeks is virtually insurmountable. The thing to worry about is the fact Suárez and Elliott both had a ton of speed. If that carries over to Watkins Glen, then he could really be in trouble.

On the other hand, a previous race winner could take the checkered flag next week and leave Wallace in a great place for Daytona. The bubble battle is not over by any means.

Bubba Wallace can’t get in his own head

Before the Verizon 200, Bubba Wallace talked about his attitude heading into the race. Compared to earlier this season, his outlook on racing and his own performances has changed. He knew he’d have to have a strong performance to hold these drivers off. He also knows he can’t get down on himself.

There is a reason why Wallace and his team have been building up a stash of points. Now they have a cushion of about one race worth of points and have two races to finish this one out. Keeping his head up is important in those last two weeks of the regular season.

“When you don’t give a damn about things that makes things fun, right?” Wallace said to media at Indy. “When you start thinking and overthinking that dials yourself right out and it’s not fun. So, I’m a damn good person of overthinking things, especially road course racing taking the fun right out of it. You just gotta go out and get back to the basics. I’ve hit up sim a lot this week just to figure out where Tyler was fast.”

Moving on to Watkins Glen, Bubba Wallace has to get with his team and think strategy. Maybe he runs a different pit cycle next week. Wallace ran long most of the day and it didn’t work out without caution flags to bring the field back together.