“Facts Matter. Silly Me”- Bubba Wallace’s Spotter Publicly Shuts Down NASCAR Journalist’s 23XI Feud Claim

Bubba Wallace did not look like a team player at Talladega. At least, that’s what many in the NASCAR court of public opinion decided after he seemingly refused to help his teammate, Tyler Reddick, who was still in the championship fight while Wallace was not. When journalist Danielle Trotta amplified the situation, hinting at trouble within 23XI Racing by highlighting Wallace’s “not my problem” response to the plea for help, the controversy grew into something bigger. Freddie Kraft had had enough and decided to step in.

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“Millions of people heard Bubba say, ‘I don’t want to be in a position to take care of this MF; they should have gotten their s*** full.’ Which was in response to something that happened on the track. Not for being told to push the 45, as you stated. Facts matter. Silly me,” Kraft said on X, replying to Trotta.

She had taken to social media to call Kraft “silly” by doubling down on her initial take. The NASCAR journalist claimed on October 25 that Wallace refused to push Reddick’s No. 45 car during Stage 1, when the Toyota was low on fuel. In a superspeedway track like Talladega, where teamwork plays a hugely important role, a request like that makes sense. An outright refusal from a teammate, however, does not. Something was up.

Kraft, Wallace’s spotter, shared what happened in the moments preceding the Alabama-born driver’s snarky radio comments in the YellaWood 500. Reddick was the focal point, but not for the reasons many, including Trotta, assumed.

The team wanted Wallace to drop back, find Reddick, and help him save fuel by allowing him to draft closely behind or pushing him through the pack. But doing so amid 30 cars travelling at nearly 200 mph was a dangerous proposition. According to Kraft, as Wallace attempted to carry out the request, Reddick pulled down and picked up Austin Hill, who was trailing the pack. The move nearly caused contact, creating a chaotic situation that left Wallace concerned about being put in a dangerous position and forced him to make a split-second decision to avoid a wreck.

He had to make a split-second move to avoid a wreck. So, the No. 23 driver said what he said in a moment of frustration. It was not a dig at his teammate for leaving him to deal with the consequences of the No. 45 team’s fuel miscalculation.

“This was not an answer to a question. This was an outburst after a near-miss,” Kraft had said on the Door Bumper Clear podcast.

Trotta has yet to respond to Wallace’s spotter’s sarcastic “Silly me” comment, and she may need to provide a stronger argument to establish that there is indeed a rift within the 23XI organization. Both drivers, Reddick and Wallace, have chosen to remain silent on the matter. Reddick is focused on the bigger picture and securing wins in both remaining races, while Wallace is unlikely to comment because he knows that’s exactly what the media wants from him.

This is not the first time Trotta has found herself in hot water. In July last year, she and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio co-host Larry McReynolds were discussing a possible overhaul of the playoff system when McReynolds took a jab at a committee member pushing for a return to the old 36-race format.

“I bet it’s a driver that has not won a championship,” he said. Trotta agreed, and fans quickly assumed they were targeting NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin.

Trotta later doubled down on X, “Mark, you know I love you but what we got is a whole lot better than what we used to do… This format does it all & is highly entertaining!” she wrote.

Martin was having none of it, shutting her down with a blunt, all-caps response. “NO WE DON’T.”

Then, in July earlier this year, when six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon criticized the length of modern NASCAR Cup races, saying they were long enough to allow viewers to take a nap, Trotta took offence and hit back at Dixon on X, disrespecting the legend. When fans pointed out that Dixon was talking about race duration rather than the quality of NASCAR racing, she doubled down by taking a dig at IndyCar’s viewership. She scathingly said that no one really watched IndyCar races beyond the 500 in May.

The Talladega situation has given Trotta another PR nightmare to navigate, but this time, she has some evidence to support her argument. At the YellaWood 500, Toyota’s lack of teamwork was noticed by many. Trotta reported that Chevrolet had instructed its teams to help Kyle Larson maximize stage points and ensure he was not left without drafting support at stage finishes. While the claim was not independently confirmed as an official Chevrolet directive, NASCAR’s race coverage later described Larson benefiting from help from Chevrolet teammates and other drivers from the same manufacturer.

The difference between the two manufacturers was clear. Larson was the only Chevrolet driver seriously in contention for the Cup title, while Toyota had multiple like drivers Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick in the mix. With so many fighting for position, Toyota’s drivers appeared more focused on their individual races than working together.

Hamlin, for instance, blasted Briscoe for abandoning the Toyota line in Stage 1 to join a Chevrolet line. Briscoe defended his decision, saying he did not want to get stuck in a stagnant line. Hamlin fell to 17th by the end of the stage, missing out on valuable points that could have helped him close the gap to Larson.

Meanwhile, Larson received help from Chevrolet drivers throughout the race, collected 16 stage points, and went on to win. Kraft acknowledged that manufacturer loyalty is part of superspeedway racing, with Chevrolets helping Chevrolets, Fords helping Fords, and Toyotas helping Toyotas. However, he maintained that the controversy surrounding Wallace was about how his radio complaint had been interpreted, not whether drivers should help their teammates.

Wallace finished 22nd at Talladega, while Reddick ended up 37th after being caught in a late wreck. Larson, meanwhile, extended his Chase lead over Hamlin to 73 points. Reddick sits 126 points behind the HMS driver, meaning he will need a miracle to catch Larson in the remaining two races.