23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace turned heads before the start of the Chase by expressing belief that his team could go on a generational run to compete for the championship.
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Three weeks in, he has moved from 14th to 10th in the standings by mostly avoiding disaster in what he calls the hornet's nest at Darlington, Gateway, and Bristol.
This hasn't yet been a generational run, but he believes the stage is set for him and the No. 23 team to make even more moves.
"Winning Sunday ultimately flips the script for all of us, gets us on the right track to back up that quote," Wallace said during a pre-Kansas media session.
"Yeah, I mean from 14th to 10th is a run. It's not generational, but I think there's obviously a couple spots in front of us that are easy to grab, and yeah, we've just got to keep pressing forward. But a win at Kansas, a solid 50- to 60-point day at Kansas will also start that trend."
It was a good night for Bubba Wallace, who finished seventh and left his favorite track 10th in the standings. Now that he's out of the hornets nest of the early Chase, he gets to take advantage of the Toyota speed on intermediates.
He also stopped to watch a replay of the fight… pic.twitter.com/N2MjMq4uBF— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) September 20, 2026
Wallace is someone who has success at Kansas Speedway. He has made 17 starts at the track in the Cup Series split between Richard Petty Motorsports and 23XI Racing. He has finished inside the top 10 in five of them. He also won the 2022 playoff race after leading 58 laps.
Another win at Kansas would certainly help Wallace move closer to points leader Kyle Larson, who sits 92 points ahead after three races. After all, Christopher Bell, Larson, and Joey Logano both gained spots in the standings after winning at Darlington, Gateway, and Bristol, respectively.
Wallace sees the examples set by his peers, and he knows that it gives him a shot. He also knows that only one win won't be enough.
He will also have to run very well at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, the next two intermediates on the schedule after Kansas Speedway, in order to have this generational run.
"You go off and rattle off two wins here with 50- to 60-point days, and that gap shrinks quick," Wallace added.
"So I have the confidence in our people and what they're bringing to the race track, and ultimately the end recipe, the main ingredient is me."
Wallace has done his part so far at tracks where he has mixed results. He finished eighth at Darlington, 14th at Gateway, and seventh at Bristol. He also scored 15 stage points at Darlington and six stage points at Bristol.
He didn't score any stage points at Gateway, but he mostly avoided the calamity that resulted in a record-setting 18 cautions. He finished the race with his No. 23 Toyota while four other Chase drivers crashed for various reasons.
"We're getting out of the hornets' nest," Wallace told FanBuzz after Bristol. "I feel like we've been in these short tracks, just kind of in the wad of the really good guys, and we're not giving each other any room."
Wallace made it through this stretch mostly unscathed. Now, he heads to three intermediate tracks where Toyota drivers have dominated.
The Chase then closes out with Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville, and Homestead. These are all tracks where Wallace expects to run well, especially Talladega and Martinsville.
The schedule doesn't automatically mean that he will actually go on the generational run to get within striking distance of the championship, but it certainly provides a clear route for the 23XI Racing driver.
