DOVER, DELAWARE – APRIL 27: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 XFINITY/U.S. AIR FORCE Toyota, walks the grid during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400 at Dover International Speedway on April 27, 2024 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Getty Images
When Xfinity stepped away from its title sponsorship of NASCAR’s middle-tier touring series at the end of 2025, it was easy to assume the Comcast-owned brand would fade quietly into the background. Fewer slogans. Less noise. Maybe even merciful silence from that old “as fast as” tagline.
Instead, Xfinity has chosen the opposite approach.
Rather than disappearing, the brand has doubled down—planting its flag squarely on NASCAR’s biggest stage. Xfinity remains a premier partner in the sport, and in a few short weeks will debut its first-ever fully branded Cup Series car for the season opening Daytona 500.
There’s also an expanded partnership with 23XI Racing this season, the next step in a relationship that’s been building for years. Xfinity branding has appeared on the car before. The team’s high-tech nerve center was already rebranded as the Xfinity Speed Center. Now, the partnership takes center stage, with Xfinity becoming Wallace’s majority primary sponsor for the 2026 season.
Wallace doesn’t treat it like just another logo on the door.
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 19: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 Columbia Toyota, speaks to the media, holding son, Becks Hayden Wallace on the grid prior to the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 19, 2025 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Getty Images
“We’ve worked together before,” Wallace said. “And so to come together in this form of a relationship and partnership is special for, I think, both sides. Xfinity has done a lot for me in my career. And now to see them take a step up to the big leagues, if you will, and be a part of our journey together is really, really cool.”
With sponsorship settled, Wallace heads into 2026 with one less variable hanging over him—no small thing in a sport where uncertainty is basically a lifestyle. That’s especially valuable during NASCAR’s so-called offseason, which barely qualifies as a break at all.
“Unfortunately, I hate to say it, but January is probably the most dreadful month of any race season,” Wallace said. “It’s production days, meetings, getting prepped for the season. But once the season starts, it actually slows down.”
Wallace has learned to compartmentalize—something that’s become essential as his life off the track has changed just as much as his career on it. His son, Becks, is now approaching 17 months old, and another child is on the way. Balancing racing’s demands with fatherhood has forced a shift in perspective.
“I enjoy wearing both hats,” Wallace said. “It comes with a lot of responsibility and a lot of maturing. I think I’ve been able to grow up faster each and every day and learn a lot. That’s just the crazy cycle of life, I guess.”
Xfinity will debut its first-ever branded car in the season-opening Daytona 500, serving as the primary paint scheme on Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota Camry.
23XI Racing
Xfinity will debut its first-ever branded car in the season-opening Daytona 500, serving as the primary paint scheme on Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota Camry.
23XI Racing
On track, Wallace is coming off a 2025 season highlighted by a crown jewel victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway—the third win of his Cup career. Expectations at 23XI Racing have risen accordingly, and Wallace says the team hasn’t shied away from that reality.
“We’ve had some tough conversations,” he said. “But we’ve also had some really in-depth, motivating conversations in the offseason to figure out where we want to be and the direction we want to go. Nothing’s going to be the same from last year. I’m excited to see that progress.”
Whether that progress shows immediately remains an open question. Wallace is realistic about how fragile success can be in the Cup Series.
“Nothing’s ever guaranteed in this sport,” he said. “Just because we won Indy doesn’t mean we’ll go back there and win again. You’ve got to work hard for everything. But I think having the right people in the right spots, and the right partners in the right spots, creates a recipe for success.”
And when Wallace looks ahead to the 2026 season as a whole, the motivation is deeply personal.
“Just to continue to build the effort and prove to myself that I do belong,” he said. “It’s about telling that bad Bubba on the one shoulder to shut up. We can do this. And enjoy the time there.”
Between a growing family, rising expectations, and a partner willing to invest for the long haul, Wallace enters 2026 with stability on and off the track. In a sport built on uncertainty, that may be the most valuable advantage of all.