It has been six days since the Hollywood Casino 400 wrapped up, but the Denny Hamlin-Bubba Wallace situation is still ongoing. Both drivers were gunning for a win when Hamlin derailed the No. 23 driver’s lead owing to oversteering issues, and Wallace finished fifth. With the Round of 8 guarantee tossed, the two chose radio silence for at least a week. After that, Wallace dropped: “I don’t fault Denny Hamlin.” And it seems it is his employer’s turn now.

Speaking to Bob Pockrass, the No. 11 driver, hand on heart, said, “I think that it’s just, you know, I didn’t, truthfully, I didn’t know he was upset. You know, if I’m being honest, you know, I listened to his post-race and when I heard him say, you know, it’s just two guys going for it, and he came over and shook my hand. It was quick, but he did. Truthfully, I didn’t know he was upset, but I should have at least checked with him to make sure; that’s all me.”

The cooldown lap may have revealed Bubba Wallace’s anger, but that half-hour meeting with Denny Hamlin told another story. Focusing on clearing the air, their talk reflected a shared maturity and an exchange that was built on mutual respect. In fact, Wallace even noted that his heart-to-heart with Hamlin “came from a place of peace. It went better than I thought it would.”

Hamlin took full responsibility for his bold move, stressing that when he is behind the wheel, his duty as a driver outweighs his role as a team owner; winning comes first, no exceptions. Despite sitting 26 points below the Round of 8 cut-off, Wallace chose understanding over resentment. However, he noted that one of the points of frustration was that nobody in the Toyota camp won at Kansas after having five drivers start up front on the final overtime restart.

The momentum lost by Hamlin in the final corner as he washed up the track, putting Wallace’s car into the wall, opened the door for Chase Elliott to sideswipe Hamlin on the inside off Turn 4 and steal the victory to punch his ticket to the Round of 8.

Amid Wallace breaking his silence on this matter, Hamlin left Kansas with more than just points in his bag. He shared his learnings, saying, “The biggest thing is just listening and just like being a race car driver, I think what’s made me successful is continuing to evolve and trying to get better … So I feel as though it was important for me to kind of listen to his perspective and also give mine.”

“And, you know, we had that respect for each other…I feel like we’re in a good place. His perspective, he talked a little bit, it was just, you know, I wasn’t mad with you for fencing, but you know, Toyota didn’t win, and he also expressed frustration, it’s just the sort of things that were said afterwards, like getting the podcast and things like that.”

But as Hamlin has cleared the air on the lingering issue, another one latches on to him… the longstanding NASCAR lawsuit.

Denny Hamlin fires back as NASCAR’s charter war takes a legal turn

It all started when Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, co-owners of 23XI Racing, refused to sign the charter agreement last year and filed a lawsuit that shook the sport’s foundations. Fast forward to today, and NASCAR has hit back. In a motion for summary judgment, the sanctioning body accused 23XI Racing of attempting to destroy the sport itself, arguing that no sense of betrayal or bruised ego could justify dismantling an entire institution.

The word landed just after Judge Kenneth D. Bell cautioned that even if the charter system survives, it may have a very different look. That warning set off fury among teams dependent on charters, and 9 team owners quickly demanded an urgent resolution, fodder that NASCAR used against Hamlin in court.

Despite being betrayed by Brad Keselowski’s move in the NASCAR lawsuit situation, Denny Hamlin didn’t stay quiet either. On social media, he quoted NASCAR attorney Christopher Yates: “NASCAR would be perfectly fine going back to that pre-charter model,” and captioned it, “In case you’re wondering who threatened the system.”

Meanwhile, 23XI’s lawyer Jeffrey cast doubt on NASCAR’s arguments, insisting Jordan and Hamlin back the charters precisely because teams can’t survive without them. Kessler said, “We are confident NASCAR’s summary judgment motion is not going to succeed. This lawsuit has always been about making NASCAR more competitive and fair for the benefit of drivers, sponsors, teams, and fans who love the sport.”

With eyes and ears open at all times, the NASCAR community will be keeping an eye on the next turn this heated lawsuit battle takes.