Soooooo close: Bubba Wallace falls short of Daytona 500 win by three feet

This marks the second time in five years that he's finished runner-up in the Great American Race

Bubba Wallace’s hopes of winning the Daytona 500 on Sunday came up short just by a few feet - literally.

The driver of the No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota won NASCAR’s last superspeedway event at Talladega last fall and was a contender throughout Sunday’s race at Daytona International Speedway.

But Wallace came up just short, finishing second to race winner Austin Cindric by 0.036 seconds -- roughly three feet -- in a wild finish that saw several cars behind Cindric and Wallace crash after they crossed the finish line.

INCHES…

They knew we were there. Top class driving all day from @BubbaWallace.

Headed home with a 2nd place finish and a great start to the season 💪🏽@McDonalds #TeamToyota #McDPartner pic.twitter.com/JtZSBUftz8

— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) February 21, 2022

“What could have been, right?" Wallace said after the race. "Man, (I) need to talk about some happy stuff here. Just dejected, but the thing that keeps me up is just the hard work that we put into our speedway stuff and the hard work from everybody at 23XI, proud of them, can't thank them enough.

"I knew this was a big move last year for me to go out and be competitive, and we're showing that. It's always the first race of the season and you're getting through everything, but when you come out of the gates like that, it's empowering, it's encouraging.

"So thanks, everybody, back at the shop, McDonald's, almost got them another one -- back-to-back superspeedway wins. That would have been awesome, especially with it being the 500. But just short. I thought our Toyota teammates did good work until they got picked off one, two, three throughout the race, so we just had to survive.

Great Speedweeks, though. We'll come home second. I'm going to be pissed off about this one for a while. I was happy on the first second place we got a couple years ago. This one sucks when you're that close, but all-in-all, happy for our team, happy for our partners, and on to California.”

The race marks the second time Wallace has finished in P2 at Daytona. He made history the first time in 2018 by recording the best finish for an African-American driver in what was his first start in “The Great American Race”.

But now with a win under his belt and a more competitive team -- 23XI, owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan -- second isn’t a position Wallace is satisfied with finishing in.

After getting out of his car, Wallace put his head down, clearly disappointed in a runner-up finish after being strong all day.

So close. #DAYTONA500 | @BubbaWallace pic.twitter.com/Gs91HG4lcL

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 20, 2022

Wallace’s second-place finish is still something his fans should be proud of. He managed to avoid several crashes that prematurely ended the day for a number of racers.

And he still managed to finish second despite no help at the end of the race from his fellow Toyota drivers, as well as a missing right front fender after being involved in an accident 10 laps from the finish that thankfully was minor enough not to end his day.

“The tow got knocked out and I was worried about that, but I was also worried about a flat tire," Wallace said. "Bootie (Barker, crew chief) came over and just wanted me to confirm that everything was okay and that it wasn’t going to rub with the tow knocked out. I was like okay, here we go, we have to go get it. I had a lot of confidence those last 10 laps.

"I thought we had it in the bag when we were like sixth-to-fifth. I thought it was our night, but maybe I jumped the gun too much. I’m just proud of everyone at 23XI Racing to just continue to work hard, continue to impress and show up ready to battle. Our speedway stuff has been so strong for years. It’s fun to be a part of. We will go on to California. It was just a good week here.

“I thought our Toyota teammates did good work until they got picked off 1, 2, 3 throughout the race, so we just had to survive,” Wallace said. “Great Speedweeks, though. We'll come home second.

"I'm going to be pissed off about this one for a while. I was happy on the first second-place we got a couple years ago. This one sucks when you're that close, but all-in-all, happy for our team, happy for our partners, and on to California.

"We will go on and punch a pillow or something – hug my dog when I get back to the bus, but we will be ready for California.”

While he’ll have to wait until next year to try to win his first Daytona 500, Wallace still has three more superspeedway races to compete in this year. The Cup Series competes at Talladega - the site of Wallace’s first win - on April 24 and returns to Daytona on August 27.