Bubba Wallace says he's feeling better after documenting struggles: 'The sun comes up'

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Bubba Wallace, who has been open about his battles with depression, said he was feeling better relatively soon after a social media post earlier this month in which he described his struggles. 

Shortly after returning home following the Nov. 6 season finale in Phoenix — a season in which Wallace made the playoffs for the first time and finished 10th in the standings despite going winless — Wallace posted on Instagram about how he couldn’t sleep. He had made a mistake in the race and ended up wrecking Brad Keselowski while his good friend, Ryan Blaney, won the Cup title.

Among what he wrote in his Instagram story: “Climbed from the car today with little to no emotion. Frustrated with how our race ended and ending the #6 team’s top10 run. You would think your bud winning the championship would bring that joy and excitement back. Sadly it did not.”

He finished the post by saying:

“To my peeps out there starting at a blank wall, I’m with you. Tomorrow is another day. Another opportunity. Keep after it. ‘We gon be alright.'”

Wallace, speaking to reporters before the season awards ceremony Thursday night in Nashville, said by 5 p.m. that day, he was doing well. 

“It just kind of blows over — I know it is not that easy for a lot of people [where] it lingers for days and days and weeks,” Wallace said. “But the grass is always greener on the other side. The sun comes up.”

The 30-year-old driver said he was happy for Blaney but he was mad at himself for the wreck with Keselowski, a driver for whom he has great respect.

“I was so happy for Ryan but also more mad at myself — that trumped it,” Wallace said. “And I hated that because the whole kind of vibe was about Ryan and I wasn’t trying to steal his spotlight or anything. To this day, I’m proud of him. It’s super cool.”

Wallace and Blaney did meet up a couple of weeks after Blaney won the title.

“He is just super hard on himself and that’s just how he is,” Blaney said. “You try to pick him up like, ‘Dude, you did a great job.'”

And looking back on it, Wallace said he knows he had a good season.

“We checked a lot of boxes,” Wallace said. “But I don’t know if it is just me being young and hungry, but I got zero wins. That bugs the hell out of me. We made a good run. I’m proud of the efforts from the team.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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