Kurt Busch helping Bubba Wallace to handle frustrations ‘the right way’

Kurt Busch says he understands teammate Bubba Wallace’s frustrations after more issues on pit road for the No. 23 team this past weekend, and that “I’ve got my arm around him.”

Pit crew issues plagued Wallace in Sunday’s Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway, spurring a terse radio exchange with crew chief Bootie Barker.

Wallace had the fastest car in practice, but the car got out of shape in qualifying and he started 30th. He made his way to seventh at the end of the first stage.

In the second stage, he had a loose wheel. When he was told to stop, he was hit from behind by another car. By the time Wallace came back to pit road and the issue was fixed, he was a lap down.

Shortly after returning to the track, Wallace unleashed his frustration on the radio.

“Everything is good right now,” Barker said on the radio. “Obviously, we are a lap down. I apologize for that.”

Wallace responded: “Leave me the … alone, dude. Don’t talk to me the whole … entire race.”

Barker said: “I am, and we’re not out of it. Keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll be just fine. I know you are pissed and you deserve to be.”

That exchange came a day after Wallace told reporters he needed to do a better job of having the right mindset when facing challenges.

“It gets frustrating at times,” Wallace said. “You get run over or you have a bad stop, or I go and hit the fence somewhere. It sets you back.”

Busch understands Wallace’s frustrations, having had similar blowups on the radio earlier in his career. Among the reasons Busch was brought to 23XI Racing was to provide a veteran presence for Wallace. 

“I’m like, ‘Hey, man, I’ve been here,” Busch told reporters Tuesday of his message to Wallace. “‘I’m right there with you. I’m a racer. I’m passionate. We