Bubba Wallace Wins Cup Race at Kansas Speedway--His Second Career Cup Win

Meg Oliphant - Getty Images

KANSAS CITY, KS – RIS – At the end of the NASCAR Cup race at Kansas Speedway, it came down to an owner vs. a driver.  Denny Hamlin was running second to the car he owns with basketball star Michael Jordan.  Leading was their driver, Darrell “Bubba” Wallace.  They finished 1-2 with Bubba crossing the finish line first for his second Cup victory. One thing was clear.  Playoff drivers are 0-2 to start the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Wallace passed Alex Bowman for the lead with 70 laps to go in the 267-lap race and held the lead through the race’s final pit stop cycle. It’s the first regulation-distance win for Wallace after he got his first win in a rain-shortened race at Talladega in the fall of 2021.  Wallace summed it all up with one simple sentence:

“Thankful to shut the hell up for a lot of people.”

Wallace seemed to realize his feat proved his worth. Both Wallace and car were fantastic over the final stage and he gained time on then-second place Christopher Bell during the pit stop cycle. Bell finished third behind Hamlin.

"It's cool to beat the boss," Wallace continued, "but man, we were just lights out today once we got to the lead, and it was a lot of fun."

On Sunday he was in the No. 45 for 23XI Racing as the team is chasing the owner’s title in the Cup Series. The No. 45 car qualified for the playoffs with Kurt Busch’s win at Kansas in the month of May but Busch has been out of the car since July when he suffered a concussion during a qualifying crash at Pocono.

With Busch suffering through a concussion, the plan was to put Wallace in the 45 car in the hope that they could salvage at least some sort of a championship for the year.  Then, they put Joe Gibbs’ grandchild, Ty Gibbs in the No.23 car until Busch gets healthy enough to race.  Wallace’s win now automatically qualifies the No. 45 for the second round of the playoffs.

Two top drivers had bad luck early in the race.  Kevin Harvick found himself out of the race early again on Sunday after his car hit the wall in the first stage. Harvick was on the high side of Wallace and Ross Chastain while racing in the top 10 and the car snapped loose and hit the wall.  Many will say the accident triggered by Chastain’s aggressiveness. He didn’t give Wallace much space — let alone Harvick — as he pinched the eventual race winner towards the wall. Had Chastain left the car lower on the track, who knows if Harvick hits the wall.

Reddick crashed with an apparent flat tire or broken part while leading the race after Harvick’s incident. The two playoff drivers finished in the bottom two positions.

Harvick’s wreck means that he is likely going to have to win at Bristol to advance to the second round of the playoffs. He’s last among the 16 playoff drivers and 35 points out of 12th place.

Bell has already secured his position in the next round of playoff races, which begins Sept. 25 at Texas Motor Speedway. 

Where to next?  Bristol Motor Speedway for the night race, this time on concrete.  You know, the place where Dale Earnhardt ‘rattled Terry Labonte’s cage and survival of your race car is not a given.  That happens on Saturday night the 16th of September.

Unofficial Results: 22nd Annual Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by Barstool Sportsbook - September 11, 2022 - Kansas Speedway
Fin, St, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 6, Bubba Wallace (P), No. 45 ROOT Insurance Toyota, 267, 5, 4, 2, 58, 5, 53, Running
2) 25, Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 Acumatica Toyota, 267, , 6, , , , 40, Running
3) 4, Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 DeWalt Toyota, 267, 1, 2, 1, 12, 1, 53, Running
4) 3, Alex Bowman (P), No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 267, , 1, 4, 107, 1, 43, Running
5) 12, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Red White Blue Toyota, 267, 3, , 1, 24, , 40, Running
6) 9, William Byron (P), No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet, 267, , 3, 1, 9, , 39, Running
7) 5, Ross Chastain (P), No. 1 Advent Health Chevrolet, 267, 8, 10, , , , 34, Running
8) 7, Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 267, , 7, , , , 33, Running
9) 17, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford, 267, 2, 9, 1, 2, , 39, Running
10) 15, Daniel Suarez (P), No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet, 267, , , 1, 8, , 27, Running
11) 22, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 267, 6, 5, , , , 37, Running
12) 8, Austin Cindric # (P), No. 2 Snap on Ford, 267, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 13, Chase Briscoe (P), No. 14 Magical Vacation Planner Ford, 267, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 11, Austin Dillon (P), No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet, 267, 10, , 1, 3, , 24, Running
15) 10, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 267, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 23, Michael McDowell, No. 34 WISE-EV Ford, 267, , , 1, 1, , 21, Running
17) 2, Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 266, 9, 8, 1, 2, , 25, Running
18) 28, Noah Gragson(i), No. 16 Cure Token Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 0, Running
19) 27, Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protectioni Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 21, Ty Dillon, No. 42 SunseekerResorts.com Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 36, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Farmland Ford, 266, , , 1, 3, , 16, Running
22) 29, Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 266, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 32, Todd Gilliland #, No. 38 CITGARD Ford, 266, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 31, Landon Cassill(i), No. 77 Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 0, Running
25) 26, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Solomon Plumbing Ford, 266, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 20, Kyle Busch (P), No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 265, 7, , , , , 15, Running
27) 30, Cody Ware, No. 51 Nurtec ODT Ford, 265, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 33, JJ Yeley(i), No. 15 RWR Ford, 264, , , , , , 0, Running
29) 24, Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor.com Chevrolet, 264, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 35, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 SunnyD Chevrolet, 262, 4, , , , , 14, Running
31) 34, BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 Circle B Diecast Ford, 262, , , , , , 0, Running
32) 18, Harrison Burton #, No. 21 Menards/MasterForce Ford, 115, , , , , , 5, Accident
33) 19, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Circle B Diecast Chevrolet, 114, , , , , , 4, Accident
34) 16, Ty Gibbs(i), No. 23 McDonald's Toyota, 90, , , , , , 0, Accident
35) 1, Tyler Reddick (P), No. 8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet, 67, , , 1, 38, , 2, Accident
36) 14, Kevin Harvick (P), No. 4 Rheem Ford, 33, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Race Length: 267 Laps - 400.5 Miles
Time: 3 hr 09 min 50.3 sec
Average Speed: 126.4440 mph
Margin of Victory: 1.000 sec

Stage 1 Top 10: 20, 12, 19, 47, 45, 9, 18, 1, 22, 3
Stage 2 Top 10: 48, 20, 24, 45, 9, 11, 5, 22, 12, 1

Comments: Bubba Wallace won the Hollywood Casino 400, his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: No. 10 (engine change) and No. 47 (unapproved adjustments).

Cautions: 9 for 43 laps;
Laps: 27-31 (Competition Caution [51]);
35-38 (#1, 4 and 45 Incident in Turn 4 [15]);
67-71 (#8 Incident in Turn 2 [51]);
82-86 (Stage 1 Conclusion [78]);
91-95 (#23 Incident in Turn 2 [17]);
111-114 (#47 Incident in Turn 2 [17]);
116-120 (#7, 10, 21 and 43 Incident in Turn 1 [17]);
139-143 (#18 Spin in Turn 4 [47]);
167-171 (Stage 2 Conclusion [18]).

Lead Changes: 16 among 12 drivers;
T. Reddick (P) 0;
J. Logano (P) 1-2;
A. Bowman (P) 3-27;
T. Reddick (P) 28-65;
R. Blaney (P) 66-67;
A. Bowman (P) 68;
A. Dillon (P) 69-71;
C. Bell (P) 72-83;
A. Almirola 84-86;
M. McDowell 87;
M. Truex Jr. 88-111;
W. Byron (P) 112-120;
A. Bowman (P) 121-199;
B. Wallace (P) 200-214;
A. Bowman (P) 215-216;
D. Suarez (P) 217-224;
B. Wallace (P) 225-267.

Unofficial Points Report: 22nd Annual Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by Barstool Sportsbook - Kansas Speedway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Christopher Bell (P), 20, 28, 3, 2108, 0, 0, 1, 3, 12
2) William Byron (P), 24, 28, 0, 2098, -10, 10, 2, 4, 15
3) Denny Hamlin (P), 11, 28, 0, 2097, -11, 1, 2, 3, 13
4) Joey Logano (P), 22, 28, -3, 2090, -18, 7, 2, 5, 25
5) Ryan Blaney (P), 12, 28, 1, 2086, -22, 4, 0, 5, 13
6) Alex Bowman (P), 48, 28, 4, 2080, -28, 6, 1, 2, 7
7) Chase Elliott (P), 9, 28, 2, 2078, -30, 2, 4, 5, 40
8) Kyle Larson (P), 5, 28, -1, 2077, -31, 1, 2, 3, 19
9) Ross Chastain (P), 1, 28, -1, 2076, -32, 1, 2, 5, 20
10) Daniel Suarez (P), 99, 28, 2, 2056, -52, 20, 1, 2, 7
11) Tyler Reddick (P), 8, 28, -6, 2052, -56, 4, 2, 2, 12
12) Austin Cindric # (P), 2, 28, 1, 2052, -56, 0, 1, 1, 6
13) Kyle Busch (P), 18, 28, -2, 2050, -58, 2, 1, 3, 11
14) Austin Dillon (P), 3, 28, 0, 2049, -59, 1, 1, 0, 5
15) Chase Briscoe (P), 14, 28, 0, 2043, -65, 6, 1, 4, 9
16) Kevin Harvick (P), 4, 28, 0, 2017, -91, 26, 2, 0, 12
17) Martin Truex Jr, 19, 28, 0, 859, -1249, 1158, 0, 7, 0
18) Erik Jones, 43, 28, 0, 642, -1466, 217, 1, 0, 5
19) Bubba Wallace (P), 45, 28, 1, 637, -1471, 5, 1, 1, 5
20) Aric Almirola, 10, 28, -1, 618, -1490, 19, 0, 0, 0
21) Chris Buescher, 17, 27, 0, 555, -1553, 63, 0, 0, 0
22) Justin Haley, 31, 28, 0, 525, -1583, 30, 0, 0, 0
23) Michael McDowell, 34, 28, 2, 494, -1614, 31, 0, 0, 0
24) Cole Custer, 41, 28, 0, 490, -1618, 4, 0, 0, 0
25) Kurt Busch, , 20, -2, 485, -1623, 5, 1, 2, 0
26) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 47, 28, 0, 468, -1640, 17, 0, 0, 0
27) Brad Keselowski, 6, 28, 0, 455, -1653, 13, 0, 0, 0
28) Harrison Burton #, 21, 28, 0, 442, -1666, 13, 0, 0, 0
29) Ty Dillon, 42, 28, 0, 428, -1680, 14, 0, 0, 0
30) Todd Gilliland #, 38, 28, 0, 416, -1692, 12, 0, 0, 0
31) Corey LaJoie, 7, 28, 0, 332, -1776, 84, 0, 0, 0
32) Cody Ware, 51, 28, 0, 247, -1861, 85, 0, 0, 0
33) David Ragan, , 4, 0, 89, -2019, 158, 0, 0, 0
34) Joey Hand, , 5, 0, 63, -2045, 26, 0, 0, 0
35) Greg Biffle, , 5, 0, 24, -2084, 39, 0, 0, 0
36) Jacques Villeneuve, , 1, 0, 15, -2093, 9, 0, 0, 0
37) Boris Said, , 1, 0, 11, -2097, 4, 0, 0, 0
38) Kyle Tilley, , 2, 0, 8, -2100, 3, 0, 0, 0
39) Mike Rockenfeller, , 1, 0, 7, -2101, 1, 0, 0, 0
40) Daniil Kvyat, , 2, 0, 2, -2106, 5, 0, 0, 0
41) Kimi Raikkonen, , 1, 0, 1, -2107, 1, 0, 0, 0
42) Aj Allmendinger(i), , 12, 0, 0, -2108, 1, 0, 0, 0
43) Landon Cassill(i), 77, 10, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
44) Noah Gragson(i), 16, 12, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
45) BJ McLeod(i), 78, 22, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
46) Daniel Hemric(i), , 7, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
47) Ty Gibbs(i), 23, 8, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
48) Josh Bilicki(i), , 16, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
49) Zane Smith(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
50) Austin Hill(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
51) Garrett Smithley(i), , 4, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Kaz Grala(i), , 3, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
53) JJ Yeley(i), 15, 13, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
54) Josh Williams(i), , 2, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
55) Ryan Preece(i), , 2, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
56) Parker Kligerman(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
57) Loris Hezemans(i), , 4, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
58) Scott Heckert(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
59) Justin Allgaier(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
60) Andy Lally(i), , 1, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0
61) Timmy Hill(i), , 0, 0, 0, -2108, 0, 0, 0, 0