Race: Bubba Wallace – 23XI Racing Driver Had Denny Hamlin Channeling His Inner Michael Jordan in 2018 Feud

Today, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin are as tight as NASCAR drivers can get. Not only is there a good friendship between the two, but there’s also mutual respect. Both of these things are important in general, but especially considering how Hamlin is also the co-owner of Wallace’s team, 23XI Racing.

However, a few years ago, the friendship part of the equation was momentarily lost.

This was back in 2018, after the Daytona 500. Or rather, it began towards the final few moments of the race when the rookie Wallace edged out (literally) Hamlin for the second-place finish.

In the new Netflix docu-series, ‘Race’, Denny Hamlin recalls that moment in their relationship. He said, “Me and Bubba have had ups and downs, just like any competitors would.”

“We had a little spat after the race,” Hamlin added. “I made some comments in the media. He made fun of them. I took it personally. He took it personally. I didn’t like how things went down.”

Bubba Wallace also revealed his side of things from 2018 as he said, “He was pissed that I called him out on the interview. And he called me, said, I was cocky and that I cut his tire and just a bunch of bullshit. And I was just like, ‘I finished second, you finished third. Ha!’”

“I gotta be careful cause he is my boss.”

TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 04: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 McDonald’s Toyota, (R) and Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, talk on the grid during a rain delay in the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 04, 2021 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

What were the comments by Bubba Wallace that offended Denny Hamlin?

After the race, Bubba Wallace had commented on the outcome of the race. But in those comments, he took a cheeky dig at one of Hamlin’s comments on NASCAR drivers in a podcast a few weeks before the race.

“I wanna see the replay before I say anything stupid, but he might need to take some Adderall for that one. But all and all, a great day for our Click n’ Close Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team. … Hey, we edged him out, we beat him, so it’s all good,” Wallace had said.

The bit that got Hamlin all riled up was the “Adderall” one.

Anyone who wouldn’t take offense to the stupid things that was said has absolutely no backbone. I have one

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) February 20, 2018

Yet despite this feud, the respect part of the equation remained, as Denny Hamlin admitted in the Netflix series, “Ultimately I still respected Bubba, and I think that he still respected me.”

“That was important, because just a few years later, I’m asking him to come to my bus to talk about driving for me.”

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