Denny Hamlin reacts to Bubba Wallace's frustration about being on NASCAR playoffs bubble
Bubba Wallace had a car capable of winning several races this season, but never could quite finish the job. And with just one regular season race remaining, it could cost him a spot in the Cup Series playoffs.
Wallace heads into Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington 21 points below the playoff cutline, in dire need of points or a trip to Victory Lane. He finished sixth at Daytona this past Saturday, his fifth top-10 finish in the last seven races, but Harrison Burton’s upset victory knocked him below the cutline. Wallace expressed his frustration after the race, calling his performance this season “unacceptable.”
“Got one car fighting for a regular season championship and another on the bubble. It’s unacceptable,” Wallace told NBC Sports. “I’ll take all that weight on my shoulders. I should’ve won multiple times, and I haven’t. We don’t even deserve to be here, and we aren’t. Gotta go win, that’s it.”
Denny Hamlin, speaking on Sunday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast, addressed some of Wallace’s frustration coming out of Daytona. The 23XI Racing boss said while he understands Wallace’s frustration, drivers are ultimately judged by how they perform in the first 26 races of the season. While Wallace has come on of late, his overall body of work hasn’t been what is required to secure a playoff spot without a win.
Denny Hamlin opines on Bubba Wallace potentially missing playoffs
“I understand his frustration there for sure,” Hamlin said. “Had we had the performance in the first 15 weeks like we’ve had the last 10, this would be a non-issue. Which is why I always try to emphasize to my teams before the year starts that Week 1, you have to have the same intensity as you have in Week 25 when you’re trying to make the playoffs. That week meant no more than Darlington in the spring, or Martinsville in the spring, like they all matter.
“I know TV and media puts a lot of emphasis on these last five races leading into the playoffs as, ‘Oh my God, this moment is huge.’ All the moments are huge. The first 25 races have been important moments which is why you cannot be off your game for any long-extended period of time. Or else you will pay a price for it. And you will find yourself on the bubble year in and year out if you do not have sustained performance.
“While you wanna shoot for being top-16 in the points, that’s not good enough. You better plan on — you have to be 11th or 12th or better to feel good about making it in on points if that’s what avenue you’re gonna take and not make it in on a win. And it’s proving to be the case that right now you have to be 12th in the points if you’re gonna get in. It sucks that he’s in that position, but again, this is 26 races of a sample size.”
Bubba Wallace has a lot at stake at Darlington
Wallace had a fast car at Daytona. He led 16 laps but was a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wallace was involved in the “big one” on Lap 151, which also wiped out teammate Tyler Reddick among others.
Wallace is essentially in a must-win situation at Darlington, a track that’s been kind to him of late. He has tallied four consecutive top 10s at “The Lady in Black,” including a P7 result back in May.
Hamlin, however, fears it may be “too little, too late” for Wallace.
“That’s why they’re in this position is for the first 15 [races], they just didn’t have it all together and they knew they were a little off,” Hamlin said. “But now, they seem like they got it. They do. They’re contenders. I think they have probably been a top-five contender the last 10 weeks probably if you added up all the points and the other stuff — the running position, the speed.
“But sometimes, it’s too little, too late. And it might be in this case [or] it might not. They might go out there and run top-three in every stage [at Darlington] and finish. And let’s see where the cards fall.”