Denny Hamlin Drops Unfiltered Admission on Bubba Wallace’s ‘Angle’ As NASCAR Struggles Mount
Bubba Wallace’s 2025 season retains unraveling. At Pocono Raceway, the 23XI Racing driver crashed out after simply 55 laps, his fifth end exterior the highest 10 in eight races. The DNF dropped him to twelfth in Cup Sequence factors, erasing early-season momentum.
Group co-owner Denny Hamlin, nevertheless, redirected focus from the wreckage to Wallace’s resilience. His unfiltered podcast admission spotlighted a profound shift within the No. 23 staff’s battle in opposition to misfortune.
Denny Hamlin Praises Bubba Wallace’s 180-Diploma Psychological Reset
Hamlin dissected Wallace’s brutal Pocono weekend on the current episode of his “Actions Detrimental” podcast. He absolved the driving force of blame with surgical readability.
“Each our automobiles have been good in apply. The 23 was going to qualify nicely. The 45 [Tyler Reddick] did qualify nicely. It’s simply different stuff. They can not put collectively races like from inexperienced to checkered, and it’s not on one individual or one factor,” Hamlin said.
“Mechanicals simply killed the 23 this week. Different individuals’s wrecks have killed the 23 over the previous few weeks. Nothing he’s doing,” he added.
However the revelation centered on Wallace’s mindset. “What I actually respect is Bubba Wallace’s angle. I imply, a 180.” Hamlin contrasted previous reactions to present composure. “Weeks like this, it must be full remedy mode in previous years.”
The three-time Daytona 500 winner emphasised operational impression. Wallace’s calm “makes it a lot simpler for us to have, you understand, to repair these issues once we’re not attempting to repair an angle downside as nicely. It simply makes it simpler.”
Hamlin’s conclusion shifted duty squarely to 23XI: “He’s making our job quite a bit simpler. It’s on us to step up for him at this level.”
Pocono Meltdown Caps 23XI’s Winless Streak Amid Michael Jordan’s Recommendation
Wallace’s Sunday collapse started earlier than the inexperienced flag. A qualifying malfunction left him thirty third on the grid. Then, on Lap 55, brake points blew his right-front tire, sending the No. 23 Toyota into Pocono’s wall. The early exit marked 23XI Racing’s worst first-half efficiency since its 2021 debut.
The staff’s woes run deeper. Teammate Reddick completed thirty second amid dealing with points, whereas Riley Herbst crashed out. This triple setback uncovered 23XI’s battle with reliability, a stark distinction to their two-win 2024 marketing campaign.
Submit-race, Wallace revealed co-owner Michael Jordan’s mindset intervention. “I hate it, we’ve had two or three good races in a row, and there goes the unhealthy luck once more. However he [Jordan] informed me there’s no such factor as unhealthy luck,” Wallace shared. “We create our personal luck.” The motive force embraced the problem: “I apologize to the racing gods. We knew it was going to be a grind, and I used to be mentally ready for that every one day.”
Atlanta’s high-speed draft now gives redemption. Wallace’s superspeedway prowess (together with a 2021 Talladega win) aligns completely with the observe’s chaotic pack racing. His psychological reset may neutralize 23XI’s mechanical demons.
However strain mounts. With Hamlin publicly vowing to “step up,” the staff’s engineering corps faces scrutiny. Each sensor, weld, and setup sheet now carries the load of salvaging Wallace’s season. For Hamlin as a staff proprietor, fixing automobiles is less complicated than fixing damaged morale. Wallace’s angle solved half the equation.
