Sportscasting | Pure Sports
Home / NASCAR / Denny Hamlin Doubles Down On Move That Cost Bubba Wallace Playoff Win

Denny Hamlin Doubles Down On Move That Cost Bubba Wallace Playoff Win

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Updated –
We publish independently audited content meeting strict editorial standards. Ads on our site are served by Google AdSense and are not controlled or influenced by our editorial team.
Wallace Hamlin

After starting Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway ranked last among the 12 remaining playoff drivers, Bubba Wallace nearly made an improbable leap into the Round of 8.

But his boss, 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin, went for broke on the final lap. And, as a result, both drivers paid the price.

Instead of holding steady just behind leader Wallace, Hamlin made a bold move to Wallace’s inside in Turn 3 and then crowded Wallace up the track as Wallace’s Toyota drifted up against the wall.

While both drivers managed not to crash, their side-by-side battle in turns 3 and 4 slowed their momentum. That’s when Chase Elliott, running third, pounced — passing Hamlin and Wallace on the inside and holding on to score the victory in his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Had Hamlin been content to finish second, Wallace would have won the race and punched a ticket into the next round of the playoffs. But Hamlin’s attempt to beat the car he co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan ultimately led both he and Wallace to leave Kansas without a trophy.

Even worse, Wallace went from being in position to earn a Round of 8-clinching win to finishing fifth and remaining on the wrong side of the Round of 8 cutline. While Wallace jumped from 12th to 10th among the dozen remaining title contenders, he gained just one point on the driver holding the final transfer spot.

So instead of being 27 points in arrears of the bubble driver, he’s 26 back — a tough margin to overcome with only one race to go in the Round of 8.

“I thought it was meant to be. And then it wasn’t,” Wallace said of being in position to win at Kansas.

“All in all, the positives, though: We were minus 26 coming in — or minus 27 coming in. We’re minus 26 leaving. We gained a point,” Wallace added, dripping with sarcasm and disappointment.

If Given A Do-Over At Kansas, Denny Hamlin Would Race Bubba Wallace The Same Way

Understandably, Bubba Wallace was not too satisfied with the outcome at Kansas. And he was also none too pleased with the aggressive final-lap maneuver by his team co-owner, Denny Hamlin, who despite also coming up short at Kansas, remains in a much better position than Wallace to reach the next playoff round.

“He’s a dumbass for that move,” Wallace said on pit road after the race. “I don’t care if he’s my boss or not. But we’re going for the win. I hate that we gave it to Chevrolet there.”

Hamlin, who had the dominant car at Kansas, seemed regretful after the race about how the last lap played out. Not so much for Wallace. But for himself.

“Just super-disappointing,” said Hamlin, who personally competes for Joe Gibbs Racing, not the 23XI Racing organization he co-owns with Michael Jordan. “I wanted it bad. It would have been 60 (career wins) for me. The team just did an amazing job with the car. Just really, really fast. Gave me everything I needed. Got the restart I needed. Just couldn’t finish it there on the last corner.”

The next day, on his popular “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Hamlin went out of his way to make one thing perfectly clear: While he regretted the outcome, he had no regrets about challenging the car he co-owns for the victory.

“I definitely won’t apologize for racing for the win,” Hamlin said on the podcast. “On Sunday, I am the driver. The person in the 11 car is the driver. … People expect me to be a different person. They expect me to be the guy with a 23XI shirt on when I’m in the 11 car. And that’s just not possible.

Bubba Wallace Let Denny Hamlin Know Exactly How He Felt, And Hamlin Was OK With That

Bubba Wallace expressed his feelings toward Denny Hamlin not just in his post-race comments at Kansas, but also in his actions.

Most notably, on the cooldown lap, cameras showed Wallace giving his boss the middle finger.

Later, after parking on pit road, Wallace approached Hamlin on foot while Hamlin was being interviewed. There, the two quickly exchanged a cordial handshake. But when Hamlin attempted to give his driver a half hug, Wallace abruptly walked away.

So, did Hamlin have a problem with the driver of one of the cars he co-owns giving him an unsavory hand gesture after the race?

“If he were to flip me off at 23XI as the car owner, we would have an employer, employee problem,” Hamlin said on his Monday podcast. “But as a competitor, he flipped off the driver of the 11. I don’t have an issue with that.

“I don’t take that personally. I’m assuming we got someone that is on the field in the game in a heated moment. I give him grace for that, because we are competitors on Sunday.”

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
All posts by Jared Turner
Other News