Denny Hamlin opens up about Bubba Wallace 23XI contract extension, Bristol performance
Denny Hamlin had a great weekend as a driver for the No. 11 team, and an owner for 23XI Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The veteran wheelman was able to survive the Round of 16 and advance in the Cup Series Playoffs, all while hammering out an extension with Bubba Wallace , keeping the talented driver under the 23XI Racing umbrella for at least a couple more seasons.
On the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin took some time to open up about the extension, and heap praise on Wallace for his P3 finish at Bristol on Saturday evening.
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"It's great to get that solidified for Bubba," Hamlin said, regarding the extension . "We had really kind of ironed most of that stuff out a long, long time ago. But man, he had a great Bristol. Man, he was coming on quick there at the end. You know, those are the kind of runs that are hopefully going to build him some momentum towards next year. Again, if he runs as good as he is now, next year, for the first 26 races, he's going to find himself in the playoffs, and not only in the playoffs, but making a deep run.
"So, really happy to have him part of our team. He's been great with our sponsors, and certainly on-track performance continues to get better and better every single year."
Even though Wallace didn't make the Top 16 in 2024, Hamlin believes it's the 23XI Racing wheelman's best full season as a driver, and the sky is the limit once he can be more consistent on the track.
"It certainly taints it, right? But, you've got to be strong enough mentally to really dial out and say, 'I made it last year by not being as good. I was better this year and didn't make it.' That's because things that you can't control came into play," Hamlin added, regarding Wallace's 2024 . "You have more outside winners. You had some fuel mileage races that went haywire. You had — just there were more variables that kept them out.
"I mean, Chase Elliott got hurt last year, so the No. 23 car still hasn't made the playoffs, but Bubba did last year, but because the No. 9 car had multiple drivers. So, you've got to just zoom out and say, 'Am I running better? Is my driver rating better? Are my statistics better? Where's my average running position? Is it better?' Those are the things you really just need to concentrate on to decide, are you truly getting better or not in every category that I can see? Bubba is absolutely getting better, and it still needs to continue to get better, year after year."
It's obvious Denny Hamlin and 23XI Racing value what Bubba Wallace is bringing to the table, and they made a conscience effort to keep him with the team moving forward. As the veteran wheelman races for his first Cup Series title, he can focus solely on driving, after hammering out a big ownership question mark.
