Denny Hamlin 'really happy' Bubba Wallace advanced to Round of 12

Bubba Wallace clinched his spot in the Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs after picking up a 14th place finish in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Wallace finished four points above two-time Cup Series champion Joey Logano, who raced his way to a P34 result, to secure his spot in the next round of the playoffs. In just his third season behind the wheel of the No. 23 Toyota for 23XI Racing, Wallace still has a chance to win his first-career Cup Series championship, which Denny Hamlin said is an amazing achievement.

“Yeah, I’m really happy with where that team is progressing to. Really happy for Bubba,” the 23XI Racing co-owner said after the race. “I think the highest he’s ever finished is 20-something in points. He’s doing well. He’s really working on his craft… Doing all the right things. He’s really working with the team well. Him and Tyler are working really well together.

“Yeah, I’m very happy with the trajectory that that whole organization’s on. I mean, not three years complete, to have two cars now in the round of 12, very humbling. Certainly our goal going into the year was to have two cars in the Playoffs. Now to have two in the next round, this is just icing on the cake. This is nothing but bonus from here on out.”

Bubba Wallace unfazed by booing crowd at Bristol

While Wallace remains winless on the season, it certainly doesn’t diminish what has been a successful season for the 29-year-old. Ever the polarizing figure, Wallace was met with a chorus of boos as he climbed from his race car.

That didn’t faze Wallace, who fed off the negative energy from the crowd.

“God I love that s**t right there,” Wallace said. “Counted us out. Like Coco Gauff said, all they’re doing is adding fuel to the fire, I love it. Love where I’m at in this team. Wish mom and dad and my sister were here to celebrate with me. I’m in a career year. Just gotta keep it going, appreciate all the partners involved. Columbia’s done great when they’re on the car, I hate it for them last week.

“I’m mentally exhausted, I’m wore out, gave it our all there. Battled hard and executed and that’s what you gotta do. So, we know next week’s a reset and we just gotta go out and have some fun and work our asses off. Thank you to the ones that believe in me, keep it going and yeah, onto next week.”