Bubba Wallace came away from Atlanta with mixed emotions, but also a source of inspiration. After watching 23-year-old Rajah Caruth’s run a day earlier, which earned public praise from Mark Martin for the saves he pulled off during the race, Wallace admitted the performance stood out to him, especially with Caruth driving under Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s banner.
That inspiration came on a weekend where Wallace himself showed race-winning speed but had little to show for it in the final results. While his 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddickwent two for two with his second win of the season, leading 53 laps, Wallace logged the third-most laps led at 46, trailing only Reddick and Kyle Larson, who paced 48 laps, before settling for a frustrating P8 finish.
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The No. 23 driver wrapped Stage 1 in P2 and then pocketed 10 points by winning Stage 2, slipping past William Byron as Larson crashed behind them on the final lap of the stage. But the complexion of the race shifted in a chaotic double-overtime finish, where Wallace watched the lead slip away from his grasp.
Wallace, however, tipped his cap to 23-year-old Caruth’s run a day earlier, which even drew praise from Martin for the saves he pulled off during the race.
“You know who I learned a lot from? It was Raja yesterday. He had a bad fast car, and he finished second at first stage and won the second stage just like me. And I was like, this car is so fast. Don’t do anything to jeopardize a good finish. And I hate that we didn’t get the win, but all in all, appreciate Xfinity,” Wallace added.
Caruthshowed car control and dodged disaster time and again, earning a public appreciation from Hall of Famer Martin.
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In one of the race’s closest calls, the No. 92 of Josh Williams wrecked right in front of Caruth. The latter threaded the needle by diving to the bottom and barely avoided the pileup by a handful of feet. Then, early in the race, Caruth’s car got loose and stepped out in Turn 2 while buried in traffic. He gathered it up and kept it straight, saving several others from getting swept in.
Later in the race, Caruth had suffered a flat tire but still kept his No. 32 Chevrolet Camaro SS under him, avoiding the wall and the field. And despite these near-disasters, Caruth was one of the most aggressive drivers in the field, moving from 18th to 8th place in the final six laps. That grip on the wheel caught the eye of Martin, who gave Caruth a shoutout on social media.
Martin wrote, *“Today [Rajah Caruth] made a fan for life out of me. Some of the most car control I’ve seen in all my years. I wonder if he listens to any Gucci Mane. If not I’ve got a playlist to share.”*
And it looks like even before entering the Cup garage, Caruth has already made Wallace a fan of himself.
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The post Bubba Wallace Credits Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Driver for Inspiration After Mark Martin’s Public Praise appeared first on The SportsRush.
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