Yes, I believe we can say the Petty/Childress 43 is better than the Petty/Roush 43 from last year. Sponsorship is spotty, and money is obviously tight this year, but Bubba has been a genuine contender three times in eight races, including a plate race, a fast intermediate, and a high-banked short track. That is a meaningful upgrade over the 43's performance in 2017. The 43 is much faster, much more competitive, in early 2018.
Are the gains all driver... all because Bubba Wallace is that much better than Aric Almirola?? No, you can't say that. Bubba has done great, and I for one am really impressed by his driving. But you have to admit that Almirola has proven in the 10 that he is no chopped liver. Only one really bad result so far, and that was getting caught in Kyle Busch's "Big One" at Texas last week while running up front. Excluding Texas, Aric's average finish is 10, which is equal to Harvick and 4th among all drivers.