Kyle Petty: Bubba Wallace had the ‘most amazing qualifying lap I’ve ever seen’ at Darlington

Kyle Petty loved what he saw from Bubba Wallace at Darlington Raceway this past weekend. The former NASCAR star and current analyst for NBC Sports praised Wallace for the way he drove during qualifying for the Southern 500.

“Bubba Wallace, most amazing qualifying lap I’ve ever seen at Darlington to put that thing on the pole,” Petty said. “He was carrying that car and knew he had to do something to make the playoffs.

Wallace got off to a strong start, finishing in the top 10 in the first two stages of the Southern 500. But he ran into some issues in the final stage which led him to a P16 finish and being eliminated from playoff contention.

We weren’t good enough, simple as that; last two-thirds of the race I said I hope the 11 (Denny Hamlin) and 5 (Kyle Larson) stay up there because the 14 (Briscoe) is fast,’’ Wallace said, after the race. “Who won? The goalpost moved again. They were better and deserving so congrats to the 14. We come back tomorrow and gotta hit it harder than we did. That’s sports. You go up and down and round and round. Gotta put this weekend behind and put the disappointment behind of not making the playoffs and go give your all for the next 10 [races].

What next for Bubba Wallace after playoff elimination?

Wallace was looking to reach the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Based on the way he was racing the last month, it looked like the 30-year-old would clinch a playoff spot. But things didn’t go his way in the last two races, and he will now focus his attention on trying to win at least one of the next 10 races before the season ends.

Before the Darlington race, Wallace talked about not letting the playoff pressure get to him. “If you just show up and race, which is what you used to do when you were a kid, I think that that’s super important, and that’s what I’ve been doing,” Wallace said per Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “So it doesn’t mean I’m not as passionate. Doesn’t mean I’m not as pissed off when we don’t win. It just means I get even hungrier but more in a positive mindset way.

“And so I think that just helps us flow naturally, instead of pointing the blame, getting back to the shop, figuring out where we need to be better. … People want to see the frustration and the anger and, well, it’s there, but it’s being constructed in a more meaningful way and used for the next weekend and the next race, the next opportunity.”