Bubba Wallace frustrated with Denny Hamlin during battle at Richmond

With a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs on the line, Bubba Wallace grew frustrated as he battled his boss, Denny Hamlin. The Cook Out 400 has been all about tire strategy and these Toyotas have all been fast. A battle between the 23XI Racing drivers and their team co-owner was interesting throughout the afternoon.

In Stage 1 Tyler Reddick took the stage win with Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin trailing. It was a great finish to the stage. However, when track position was more precious in the final stage, Hamlin didn’t want to give his driver an inch.

The NBC broadcast reported that Wallace was not happy with Hamlin. While they didn’t report what was said on the radio, they did bring up frustration between Wallace and his boss.

Here was part of that battle for a top-5 position in Richmond.

Sunday July 30, 2023 4:10PM CDT: The NASCAR #CookOut400 at the 3/4 mile Richmond Raceway in Richmond Virginia 23222. #23 Bubba Wallace was in 1st place, pitted under green, came out 12th and at lap 242 is in 4th. His boss #11 Denny Hamlin is in 5th. pic.twitter.com/E7a7MyV7F7

— Born Again Joe 🌿💛🕊 (@BornAgainJoe3) July 30, 2023

Bubba Wallace has been fast this afternoon. However, it will take a caution or two and some fast restarts to put him in the lead of this race. He’s been one of the best restarters in NASCAR this season and that could play to his advantage later on.

Bubba Wallace loses speed late

While the 23XI Racing Toyotas were good in the long-run to start the race, things changed. By the end of the race, both Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace seemed to lose speed. Whatever they had going in their cars, they had used it all up by the time the final 30 laps came around.

Meanwhile, Chris Buescher remained steady and kept his pace in the lead. He had Denny Hamlin threatening to take the lead. At least, he was the only car that could close the gap. Wallace would fade to hold onto a top-10 spot by the time the checkered flag waved.

Although the race didn’t end how they expected, this was Wallace’s best performance and weekend ever at Richmond. He was not supposed to perform this well, but he went out and picked up stage points and gained more ground toward the playoffs.

Bubba Wallace didn’t have the speed for the win, but he did a lot to help build his points lead on the cutline.