Bubba Wallace’s bid for his first victory of 2026 slipped away at Phoenix Raceway when a pit-road speeding penalty dropped him from contention to 17th in the Freeway Insurance 500. Wallace had led 52 laps, his most in a race this season, and a late caution for Kyle Larson changed the race before Wallace fell out of contention. He took four tires on his final stop and came off pit road ninth before the penalty, and Wallace said he had pushed the limits too far on pit entry.
23XI Racing crew chief Charles Denike said the team will handle the mistake as a group issue and will review its decisions, communication and preparation before the next race. Denike said Phoenix’s curved pit road makes speed, positioning and visibility especially difficult, and he said the No. 23 team has already identified details it needs to handle better in the future.
The setback left Wallace winless since the 2025 Brickyard 400. 23XI still left Phoenix with Tyler Reddick’s victory, his sixth of 2026 and a result that ended a 23-race winless streak for the team. Reddick said the team wants a clean race at Talladega Superspeedway to collect stage points and leave with a solid points day, and Wallace and 23XI are next scheduled to try to rebound there. Corey Heim said Wednesday that Wallace had moved past the Phoenix penalty that cost him a chance at his first win of 2026.
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