The first round of the 2024 playoffs just concluded at the iconic Bristol track. After what was mostly a clean race, we have our top 12. And guess what? NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin is in it! After entering the race in the elimination zone, he finished the Bristol race in P4 and currently stands sixth amongst the 12 playoff drivers.

Overall, it was a good day for Hamlin at Bristol, as his 23XI team managed a good finish too. The regular-season champion, Tyler Reddick, made it to the next round as the third-highest seed driver. Bubba Wallace continued his career-best season after securing his season’s best finish yet!

Bubba Wallace’s best NASCAR season finish comes as a result of

After starting the race in the 11 position, the #23 was quick to enter the top 10 and stayed consistently in it. Wallace finished the first stage in 10th place and the second stage in 6th. In the final stage of the race, Wallace climbed to the 5th position, slowly bettering it. He eventually ended his run at the 3rd position above Hamlin. With this top-5 finish, the 23XI driver has a total of 6 top-5s and 11 top-10s so far in the season.

These are also his best stats in Wallace’s 8-year-long Cup Series career. So far he has even managed a career-best average finish at 15.86. Post the Bristol race, Wallace wasn’t very pleased with how his car ran on the track but was delighted to continue his best season.

He said, “It was a good day. Didn’t really think we were third-place car, but we just battled. We stayed in all together. Our Mobil 1 Toyota Camry was okay, just trying to make do, trying to keep pace. We definitely couldn’t run hard at the beginning so I changed up some techniques stuff. Gave us a long-run chance, with about 20 to go I was figuring out, it ain’t gonna play out in our favor, thank god it did. All in all, good day, good top 5. Hey, our stats say our best year yet. Now we are 6 and eleven. 6 top 5s and Eleven top 10s. So good day.”

Bubba Wallace has had a mixed season so far, with highs and lows throughout. The #23 driver had a great start this year with back-to-back top 5s (Daytona and Atlanta). However, post this, his form suffered a slump with some unremarkable finishes. Wallace gained momentum after Pocono and held it till the end of the regular season in Darlington. In six races he managed two top 5s and four top 10s. Nevertheless, he missed out eventually.

Even if we see his track-wise performance, he’s had convincing performances on all tracks. Before his recent short track performance, Wallace finished fourth at Martinsville and Richmond. He’s had top-10s on a majority of Super speedways, Even on some road courses he’s managed top-15 finishes. Overall, he’s bettered his race-craft. However, the 30-year-old has remained winless since October 2022. Even Denny Hamlin agrees that Wallace needs to up his game.

Denny Hamlin says Bubba Wallace needs to improve

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Recently, the 23XI signed a multiple-year contract extension with Wallace. In the statement, they said.“From day one Bubba has been an integral part of 23XI, We’re excited to announce that he has signed a multi-year renewal and will continue to play a key role in helping 23XI grow and succeed.” Wallace joined the team in 2021, however in the four years has only managed two wins, and only once has he qualified for the playoffs (2023). He finished the 2023 season in the 10th position.

The team owner Denny Hamlin believes that Wallace needs to work on his consistency. Hamlin recently said, “The 23 team needs to make the Playoffs every year. I think that is our expectation, and then make a deep run and finish in the top-10 in points. That is kind of our expectation of kind of where we are at. Just getting in, it is hard for me to say that is the only expectation, but it is an expectation given the standards we are giving ourselves. He (Wallace) knows that he needs to get better.”

It is crucial for the #23 team’s morale that Wallace gets a win in the next seven races. The good news for Wallace is that his two career wins have come in the upcoming tracks. The first race of the Round of 12 will be at Kansas, where Wallace won in 2022. The Kansas race will be followed by Talladega, where he won in 2021. So these tracks provided the best opportunity for Wallace to break the 71-race winless streak. However, Wallace’s performance on these tracks this year isn’t encouraging. He finished 17th in Kansas and 36th in Talladega.

Hopefully, he can bring some of his best season energy there and bag a win. Do you think Wallace can get a win this year? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.