23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin and his team’s future driver Bubba Wallace were involved in a massive wreck shortly after the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas re-started. After an almost 73-hour delay, the race at Texas saw the light of day.
It was a frustrating moment for Wallace, whose race ended with the crash. It all started after Matt Kenseth slipped on the frontstretch. He then tried to collect himself, but Hamlin got into the back of his car as he came up. Kenseth then spun and made contact with Wallace.
After all that waiting to race again, Bubba Wallace and Matt Kenseth's days are done.
TV: NBCSN#NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/i9Bcadiroe
— #NASCARPlayoffs on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 28, 2020
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Kenseth kept spinning and went into the grass, while Wallace crashed into the outside wall. Kenseth’s race also ended with the incident. For Wallace, the impact was too huge for him to have a chance of continuing.
As soon as Kenseth made contact with him, Wallace went into the grass for a bit before taking a big spin and across the track into the wall. Wallace showed his frustration after waiting so long to get back on the track, only for that to happen. Aric Almirola was also affected by the incident.
Sincere frustration from Bubba Wallace after waiting 73 hours for someone else to wreck him out of the race. pic.twitter.com/QpoEZjxzdJ
— Matt Mayer (@MatthewMayerCBS) October 28, 2020
Denny Hamlin suffers after the wreck
There were big implications for Hamlin as well, who was forced to pit as his No. 11 car suffered damage. He had a bad start on Sunday, moved his way back up to 15th place before the stoppage, and Wednesday’s incident set him back again.
Due to the incident, he was right on the bubble for ‘championship 4’ qualification, despite being comfortably ahead on points not long ago.
Substantial damage for another driver with #Championship4 aspirations.@dennyhamlin is now right on the bubble to advance to @phoenixraceway. pic.twitter.com/NbJfkE2yoA
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 28, 2020
Bubba Wallace is gutted to wreck out so early
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Later, Wallace expressed his disappointment at being wrecked out so early. However, he saw the bright side of it all.
“Sit around for four days to have the race taken away from us like that. I got two races left, so unfortunate,” Wallace said right after the crash.
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“Funny thing is, damn I didn’t grab my hat. My mum’s going to be pissed, my hair looks bad. Onto Martinsville,” Wallace added.
Wallace and Kenseth were safely released from the medical center after the incident.
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While tensions must run high as they need to see of the season, Wallace and Hamlin will soon turn their focus towards their partnership in 2021.
Read more – Top NASCAR Official Reveals the Importance of Bubba Wallace and Michael Jordan’s New Team to NASCAR