With another race gone, another chance to dry some tears is also gone. The wildcard Daytona race produced a whirlwind of unpredictable results, shaking up the playoff picture. Harrison Burton, who stood 34th or worst in points, clinched his first victory and made it into the playoffs. But other drivers, like Bubba Wallace, lamented as his bleak situation remained the same, and Denny Hamlin did not want to console him.

The 23XI Racing fold is divided into two polar halves. While Tyler Reddick basks in a victorious glow, Wallace still stands outside the playoff bubble. Team owner Hamlin blames the latter for not maintaining his winning posture from the start of the season.

Denny Hamlin sheds his lenient attitude

Moving into the Olympic break, Bubba Wallace was in high spirits. After a long streak of drab finishes, the No. 45 Toyota finished in the top five. He just lingered over the playoff bubble, and it seemed he would get in. But then set in a streak of DNFs. Wallace briefly made jaws drop at Michigan when he surged to the lead by overcoming team owner Denny Hamlin. However, Kyle Larson’s car broke loose on lap 116 and collected the 45, along with several cars.

Then, in the recently unfolded Coke Zero Sugar 400, Michael McDowell flipped to the side and contacted Wallace. Although he led for 16 laps and could manage a P6 finish, the 23XI driver waxed despair about his dwindling playoff hopes. Denny Hamlin brought this up on an ‘Actions Detrimental’ episode, but with a harsh note for Wallace.

“I understand his frustration there, for sure…I know the TV and the media put a lot of emphasis on these last five races leading into the playoffs…but all of them are important…which is why you cannot be off your game…You have to be 11th or 12th or better to feel good about making it on points,” said Hamlin.

Then the 23XI co-owner pinned the blame on Wallace further, pressuring him to be at his best. He even opined that Bubba Wallace is not acting like the ‘elites.’  “I think that how suited you are to some tracks and the schedule does play a role…I do think that maintaining intensity for 36 weeks is very very hard…But it’s what the elites do. It’s what the elites prepare every week, whether it’s a good track, a bad track, or a medium track – it doesn’t matter. Prepare the same, with the same intensity, and you go out there and give it your all.” 

However, Denny Hamlin did lend a voice of empathy for his driver as well. Bubba Wallace has scored well in Daytona before, but maintaining that glorious stance is a tough ask.

A bit of empathy from the co-owner

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Back in 2022, Bubba Wallace was the poster boy for the Toyota bandwagon. He led the OEM with a runner-up finish at the 64th Daytona 500 race. This year as well, he scored a top-five finish at the same race and came narrowly close to another at the Coke Zero race.

However, maintaining that efficient streak throughout the year is challenging, especially because of the hard work involved. Ranging from preparing for specific tracks to bonding with team members and also putting up with NASCAR’s ever-changing rules, being a winning Cup Series driver can be tough.

And Denny Hamlin sides with Wallace in that regard. He empathized with his struggles: “It’s just very very hard for people to do that because you’ve got other s–t going on in your life. Trust me, I know. I’m torn in 18 different places during the week…It’s hard to do. Sometimes the pit crew needs time to gel, the driver-crew chief needs time to gel…rules change over the offseason and you don’t adapt to them as well.” Yet the driver-team owner still dropped a word of motivation for Wallace. “But I always make sure that I give my job it’s due and I give it my 100%.”

Evidently, even Denny Hamlin is slightly uneasy about Bubba Wallace’s fortune. Let us see if the No. 23 driver can stamp his way into the playoffs at the upcoming race at Darlington Raceway, where he has earned four consecutive top-ten results.