Bubba Wallace "paid the price on our front tires" in battle for Vegas win

Bubba Wallace had the opportunity to end his year-long winless streak on Sunday, and appeared to be in a great position following the final round of pit stops.

Wallace was directly behind race leader Chase Briscoe, and had strong pace in the No. 23 Toyota. He crept closer with every passing lap, but the defining moment came with 29 laps to go. Wallace was all over the back bumper of Briscoe's car and attempted a late lunge to the inside in Turn 1. However, Briscoe slammed the door shut and Wallace's car skidded up the track.

Having overworked the front tires, Wallace began to slip back, and eventually faced extreme cording issues that dropped him from second to eighth in the final running order. He was still set for a top five with just three laps to go when he had to shift to survival mode just to get the tires to the end. His final lap was a full three seconds slower than the cars around him.

It was a bittersweet end to an impressive comeback after suffering a mid-race penalty for equipment interference.

Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota; Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

Photo by: Chris Williams of Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

"You replay every scenario," said Wallace after the race. "His car [Briscoe] was just good enough to keep that buffer out in front of us. I tried to make one last charge at him, catch him sleeping into (Turn 1) and it just didn't work, and got super tight. Ultimately we paid the price on our front tires, I think we started cording and right front. Fell off pretty hard there, but just hate that we had a penalty. Trying to come from the back, it's difficult. In the Chase, you can't have any mistakes. Pit crew rebounded, so I do appreciate that. It was a hard-fought day ... just wasn't meant to be."

Wallace was surprised by just how well Briscoe held on in the end. Even after Wallace faded, Briscoe faced mounting pressure from Kyle Larson and Wallace's 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick, but they couldn't find a way by either.

"I thought he'd fall off a little bit harder there at the end because we were pretty good on long run," added Wallace. "It looks like they got a little bit better on long run, we got a little bit worse, so just the way the cards fell."

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