By David Morgan, Associate Editor
CONCORD, N.C. – On the final lap at Kansas Speedway last weekend, Bubba Wallace appeared to be in the catbird seat as he led the race and was in a great position to win and transfer into the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Then came the Turn 3 clash with team owner Denny Hamlin in which Wallace found himself going from the lead to a fifth-place finish after getting pushed into the outside wall.
The contact also moved Wallace from being able to advance on to the next round of the postseason to now sitting 26-points in arears of the cut-off line and likely needing a win in Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to be able to stay alive in the Playoffs.
We need to experience this one more time. pic.twitter.com/Q1EtVniPtd
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 29, 2025
Almost a week later, Wallace and Hamlin are still dealing with the after effects of that run-in in Kansas. Wallace explained on Saturday at Charlotte that the two sat down and had a face-to-face meeting to try and hash out their differences and fully turn their attention to the task at hand of getting the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota into the next round.
“Look, it was definitely a somber week for sure, and I hate that it got to this point – the lingering effect, but Denny (Hamlin) and I just talked 30 minutes ago,” Wallace said.
“It was a good, heart-to-heart conversation. It came from a place of peace. It went better than I thought it would. He shared his side of things, and I shared mine and we had common ground. I told him – and it was kind of funny – I kind of sent him on a detour when I said, you can go first, and then five seconds in I said, just so you know, I’m not mad about getting fenced going for the win – and his eyes were like, and he was like I need a second to reposition where I’m going to go.
“Just so we are all clear on that – that is not going to be the last time where I’m battling for a win and it doesn’t go our way in some fashion, whether that is Denny or anybody in the field. I’ll be a little gracious here and say 95 percent of the people on this side of the catchfence look at that move as, oof, that’s it. The other five percent, whether they are buddies or they don’t care, and they see the other side of it.
“I don’t fault Denny Hamlin for racing for a win, racing for his team, and his sponsors. I get the question a lot – what is it like racing Denny, on the race track, no offense to him, but I could give two shits because he is a competitor, and he has labeled it that way.”
Wallace added that he respected the move that Hamlin made as a fellow competitor and not backing down when racing for the win, but it doesn’t make it sting any less with it being his team owner that fenced him.
“That was two competitors going for a win, and so as much so as it didn’t work out, I have to respect that. I think Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) said it – I have every right to be pissed off about it,” Wallace said.
“My biggest thing was Toyota didn’t win, and before I left my motorhome after the race, I texted the Toyota reps apologizing that we didn’t win. We had five in the top-five to take the green flag on the last restart, and none of us won. I just told Chase (Elliott) – we alley oop’d that for him, he appreciated it. It was all of the people that got effected – that is where my frustration came from, because I felt like I was stepping up for them.
“So, while the conversation went really well – the pain is still there a little bit, but it definitely eased it. So, I definitely appreciate Denny’s comments, never want him to back down in any scenario, but I didn’t get the chance to see the rest of the corner, and so yeah, that sucks.”
Wallace continued, noting that he did not take kindly to Hamlin going on his Actions Detrimental podcast and saying that he wouldn’t apologize and it taking nearly a week for the two sides to get together and work things out.
At the end of the day, all that matters is winning. pic.twitter.com/D5XEoYmV8R
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 30, 2025
Especially on a week that is vitally important for Wallace, the No. 23 team, and 23XI as a whole to have their whole focus on trying to make it through to the next round.
“It was just the way it was kind of handled behind the scenes just kept going, kept adding fuel to the fire and I hate that it got to that point, and I expressed my displeasure to Denny (Hamlin) today, and he totally respected that,” Wallace said.
“I’m a guy that we have confrontation, and it is not settled – like it is lingering, and now I’m in this spot where I’m 25, 26 points out. I expressed to him, that what you need from your driver is to be at 110 percent focused on what to do, how to execute, and how to go out there and beat SVG (Shane van Gisbergen).
“I had a dark cloud over my mind all week long, man, it’s not fair to my team. I expressed that, he told respected that, and frankly the conversation allows him to see things from a different perspective. Denny usually doesn’t do that but allowed him to have that opportunity.
“As much as I wanted to come in here and MF the guy, the competitor Denny, the conversation went better than expected and you feel lighter on your feet. There is a transition period that you have to go through, and it sucks that it is happening on Saturday.”
Hamlin Gives His Side of the Story
Hamlin gave his side of the meeting between the two shortly afterwards, noting it was a constructive conversation between the two, with him gathering a better perspective on Wallace’s position.
“I’ll keep that part private, but I think it’s important that I listen,” said Hamlin.
“The biggest thing is just listening and just like being a race car driver. I think what’s made me successful is continuing to evolve and trying to get better, and I think that even as an adult you got to continue to try and get better and whether it be on track or off track, so I feel as though it was important for me to kind of listen to his perspective and also give mine.
“We had that respect for each other and I think that obviously went very well and feel like we’re in a good place.”
As for why it took them nearly six days to have a meeting of the minds, Hamlin explained that he didn’t know Wallace was upset, but also wanted their first sit down to be face to face, with Saturday at Charlotte being the first opportunity to do so.
“I think that it’s just I didn’t, truthfully, I didn’t know he was upset if I’m being honest,” Hamlin said.
“I listened to his post-race and when I heard him say I was just two guys going for it and he came over and shook my hand, it was quick, but he did. Truthfully, I didn’t know he was upset, but I should have at least checked with him to make sure. That’s on me.”
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