Bristol was a good race for Bubba Wallace. He was out of the top 12 when he started the race. And by the time he crossed the finish line, he was in the round of 12. The 29-year-old made it into the playoffs by a whisker and has now managed to reach the second stage. But it was not an easy night for the 23XI Racing driver. At one point, he found himself locked in battle with one of his arch-rivals.

Wallace finished in 14th position at Bristol and made it through to the round of 12 on points. He was massively helped by Joey Logano’s accident that saw him retire from the race. His teammate Tyler Reddick was right behind him in 15th place. However, the day belonged to their boss, Denny Hamlin, who finally earned a much-deserved victory.

23XI Racing star takes a dig at his arch-rival

Many think that Bristol is not where one can survive by just sitting back and holding position. The best way to make sure that you finish the race is by challenging for the win. Many drivers attempted to do that, but in the end, Denny Hamlin emerged victorious.

One driver who tried really hard to get past Hamlin is one who has a lot of history with Bubba Wallace. A part of Rick Hendrick’s team, he had one of the fastest cars on track. There was a point in the race when he was looking to drive to the front of the pack to keep up with Hamlin. But he had to get past Wallace, and the two had a bit of an on-track battle.

In the post-race interview, Wallace talked about that tussle with his boss. He praised his team owner, Denny Hamlin, which is something he doesn’t usually do.

Hamlin and Bubba have had several disagreements this year alone. In the Pocono race earlier this year, Hamlin controversially took the win away at the last moment from his ‘friend’ Kyle Larson. Wallace had slammed his boss at the time for “showing his true colors.”

But at Bristol, Denny was on a champion’s run throughout the race and nobody could stop him. So when Bubba saw his rival was going to try to take the lead away from Hamlin, he did not hesitate to pass a sarcastic comment in favor of his team boss.

“Yeah, I’m running my own race and I don’t know… I’m pretty sure he thought he could go catch the 11. That’s a tall task. But what I had on the line I thought was more important and what he had on the line he thought was more important. It’s Bristol, it’s racing,” Wallace said.

The man in question is the #5 driver of Hendrick Motorsports He the winner of the Darlington race this year, the 2021 Cup Series champion, and one of Hamlin’s friends, Kyle Larson.

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It’s common knowledge that Wallace and Larson’s relationship is not the smoothest. In fact, their on-track fight in Las Vegas last year was one of the biggest talking points of the year. Wallace and Larson had crashed in that race, causing both cars to retire. And the 23XI Racing man was not happy about it. He walked up to Larson and confronted him and it didn’t take long for it to turn physical.

But nothing of the sort happened at Bristol. The 29-year-old got through to the round of 12  in tough conditions. And he felt proud of what he achieved.

Bubba Wallace Slams Fans at Bristol After Race

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In the post-race interview, reporters asked Wallace what his evening was like after he qualified for the next round. 

“Good, I love that s*** right there. Counting us out. Like Coco Gauff said, all they’re doing is adding fuel to the fire. I love it,” he said as per Speedway Digest.

The 29-year-old referred to the crowd reaction he received from those gathered at Bristol, which was not positive. However, he overcame the adversities and made it into the next round. It was a hard-earned but well-deserved result.

“I’m mentally exhausted. I’m worn out. That’s what you got to do. We know next week’s a reset. We just have to go out there and have some fun, work our a***s off,” the 23XI racer added.

The NASCAR Cup Series will travel to Texas next weekend for the first race of the round of 12. After his performance at Bristol, Bubba Wallace will have a lot of confidence going into the race. How do you think he will perform in his first round of 12 event?

WATCH THIS STORY: After triggering Bubba Wallace wrath for harsh criticism, Kyle Petty makes wild Joey Logano claim