NASCAR star Bubba Wallace has leapt to the defence of his 'favorite' teammate and fellow 23XI Racing star Riley Herbst.

Wallace and Herbst have been teammates at Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin's team since the start of 2025, when Herbst began to drive the No. 35 as 23XI expanded to three charters.

However, since then, Herbst has struggled to match the likes of Tyler Reddick and Wallace in terms of results, and he will now be moving on from the team at the end of the year to make way for the incoming Corey Heim.

Despite that, Wallace gave Herbst his flowers on this week's episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, and explained why even though results might have been tough,

Bubba Wallace defends favorite NASCAR teammate

“Riley, this is your second year, right?” Wallace said. “And you've been dealt an incredibly difficult hand.

“But I'm gonna give you your flowers. Best teammate I've ever had. And this isn't s******g on Tyler [Reddick], best teammate I've ever had because Riley's had a lot of bad days and you would never know it.

“He's like, ‘Well on to the next one,’ and I'm like…I'm p****d off that he's not. It's incredible to see how he can just let things go and focus on the next week and try to be better.

“He came in when 23XI is continuing to climb, ‘Here's a seat, rookie, figure it out.’ It's so f*****g hard, man. No matter who you are. It's so hard.

“To see the efforts come through and to see the hard work pay off for a good kid, it's really cool to see. So I'm gonna give you your flowers, dog. F**k what everybody else says."

Where will Herbst drive in 2027?

Herbst's future in the Cup Series beyond this year is currently unconfirmed. However, there have been strong reports he is set to sign for another Cup Series team.

Legacy Motor Club will expand to three charters from next season, and The Athletic's Jordan Bianchi recently reported that Herbst is the leading candidate to land that drive alongside Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek.

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