23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace had an opportunity in the Cook Out 400 on Sunday to record a top-20 finish, which would’ve kept him at least top seven in the NASCAR standings entering the break. Instead, he got into it with Carson Hocevar with a decision that wrecked his day and hurt the No. 23 team.
Recapping the race on Monday’s episode of Actions Detrimental, driver and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin weighed in on Wallace’s costly action against Hocevar in the final stage.
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“I made of it that Bubba wrecked himself trying to knock Carson out of the way. He just didn’t let up, kept driving in there and eventually it caused him to wreck himself and others. That’s my take.”
Denny Hamlin on Bubba Wallace driving into Carson Hocevar at Martinsville
On the restart with 77 laps to go in the Cook Out 400, Hocevar made an aggressive move to make it three-wide by going underneath Wallace into the corner. The driver of the No. 23, who felt his car was underperforming after showing great speed in practice, seemed to be set off by the move.
On the next lap, Wallace drove his car into the No. 77 and then drove through him again into the corner. Hocevar’s car got spun around, taking out other cars with it, while the No. 23 car suffered race-ending damage that resulted in a 36th-place finish.
Hamlin also addressed Hocevar’s action leading up to the incident, which while not uncommon in NASCAR, is typically viewed as a ‘d***’ move.
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“It’s typically a d*** move if everyone is restarting into Turn 1 on a restart, everyone’s got to check up for the corner, right? If you’re in Row 8, you’re checking up for the entry fo 1 sooner than you normally would. It’s like going into Turn 1 on COTA where someone just, ‘Alright, I’m just gonna go left and if you guys are going to check-up, I’m just going to jam it on in there.’ Carson says I’m going to go three-wide on a restart at Martinsville to the bottom. It’s not illegal, it’s just a d*** move.”
Denny Hamlin on Carson Hocevar’s actions leading up to the contact from Bubba Wallace
That’s not to say Hamlin excused Wallace’s action, which cost the No. 23 team double-digit points and dropped them to 11th in points. Instead, it’s the future Hall of Famer explaining the specific move that further agitated Wallace and why Hocevar’s move was responded to by a hostile action.
Hocevar has driven like this since he got to the Cup Series, and he’s made it clear he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win. Wallace, at age 32, is the veteran driver whose emotions ultimately only hurt himself and caused damage to peers who weren’t involved in the incident.
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