Bubba Wallace thought he had secured second place at EchoPark Speedway. Instead, NASCAR ruled he passed below the double yellow line on the final lap. Officials handed him a black-flag penalty, dropping the No. 23 Toyota to 29th. However, there were further issues with the No. 23 Toyota in Atlanta. During Stage 2, Ty Gibbs turned Wallace’s car. The wreck cost Wallace valuable stage points. It also triggered a post-race confrontation between the two Toyota drivers.
The crash drew a reaction from 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin. Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin refused to blindly defend his own driver.
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Denny Hamlin believes Bubba Wallace asked too much
“But I understand why the 23 did it because he doesn’t want to lose that one spot,” Hamlin said. “I guess they’re coming to the end of the stage. But it’s like, man, I don’t know. It’s really putting your competition in a really tough spot where you’re saying, ‘Yep, I need you to look out for me here and lift.’ Eh, I just don’t think that’s a reasonable ask of anyone.”
The incident developed as the field charged toward the stage finish. Running near the top five, Wallace moved to protect his spot entering Turn 4, but Gibbs arrived with a significant run behind him. Contact followed, sending Wallace spinning through the infield and ending any chance of scoring valuable stage points.
The crash became a major talking point. Both drivers race for Toyota. Teams expect manufacturer teammates to work together on drafting tracks. After the race, Wallace confronted Gibbs. Gibbs quickly defended himself and told Wallace not to block.
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“He had the opportunity to give there a lot, and he didn’t do that,” Wallace said. “So, when I told him that, he quickly went on the defense and said, ‘Don’t block.’ When you hit me square in the bumper, it means you just ran right into me. The block was clean.”
He then delivered one final remark that summed up his frustration.
“So, yeah, that’s Toyota teammates. We don’t race very well together.”
But Denny Hamlin had a different perspective on superspeedway blocking. He clarified that superspeedway racing is governed by an unwritten agreement rather than blaming Gibbs solely. He explained that a driver can throw a late block, but they must accept the consequences. If a driver pulls out in front of a car with a huge run, they cannot expect the trailing car to hit the brakes.
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Hamlin argued that Gibbs had nowhere to go. Wallace’s block left Gibbs with too much momentum and no time to avoid contact.
Interestingly, Wallace wasn’t the only driver whose defensive moves caught Hamlin’s attention. During some sections of the race, the veteran said that he was also irritated with teammate Tyler Reddick. He claimed that the No. 45’s late blocks left competitors with little practical choice but to lift in order to avoid collision.
Hamlin made his stance clear. Drivers can defend their positions, but forcing another driver to kill their momentum to avoid a crash crosses the line. Once a block requires someone else to sacrifice their momentum (or risk causing a crash), it becomes, in Hamlin’s words, “too much to ask.”
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The post “Don’t Think That’s a Reasonable Ask”- Denny Hamlin Publicly Condemns 23XI Star as He Voices Own Atlanta Frustration appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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