Bubba Wallace: NASCAR Cup playoffs 2025 preview

Entering the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, Bubba Wallace is poised for a career year.

For the first time in his Cup Series career, Wallace entered Daytona locked into a playoff position, whereas the first time he qualified for NASCAR’s post-season in 2023, he earned the final spot via points.

“All in all, we’re locked in, and we’ll get focused for Darlington,” Wallace said after his early exit from the Daytona race Saturday.

2025 marks Wallace’s second playoff appearance and first since 2023.

In 2023, Wallace advanced to the Round of 12, ultimately being eliminated in that round and finishing the season 10th in points.

Of the 10 track in the playoffs, Wallace has won at two of them; Kansas (Round of 12) and Talladega (Round of 8). 

Stats through 26 races

• 26 starts
• 0 poles
• 1 win
• 4 Top-5 finishes
• 10 Top-10 finishes
• 260 laps led

Though Wallace has already won in 2025, he has never had a multi-win season. His career high in Top-5 and Top-10 finishes were six and 14 respectively, coming last season. His 260-lap led count is 25 away from tying what he led in 2023.

Wallace enters Darlington seeded ninth with a two-point cushion over the cutline.

Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.

From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book “All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story” with racer Geoff Bodine.

Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.

You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.