Heading into Kansas Speedway, the Toyotas looked bright as ever. With Chase Briscoe on the pole, Denny Hamlin in second place, and Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace close behind, people expected a return to the Round of 16 dominance. Hamlin helped fuel that notion as well, as the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran swept both stages and led for 159 laps of the Hollywood Casino 400 race. However, a tangle with Bubba Wallace changed things.

The No. 23 Toyota driver was in a sticky spot. Heading into Kansas while being 27 points below the elimination cutline, Bubba Wallace had to contend for a victory. The 2025 Brickyard 400 winner was fiercely focused on the checkered flag – until his tangle with Denny Hamlin.

Is Bubba Wallace going back to his older form?

Well, the 23XI Racing driver was notorious for his bold and unpopular comments. Bubba Wallace attracted a lot of detractors for his conflicts with popular drivers like Chase Elliott or Kyle Larson. Yet in 2025, people noticed a change in him after welcoming a child and a new crew chief. However, that progress seemed to take a turn during the Kansas race, as Wallace had some choice words for Denny Hamlin, his 23XI Racing team owner. “He’s a f*cking douche,” he said over the radio. So, is the old and moody version of Wallace back on track?

Whatever the case may be, the 23XI Racing driver faced chaotic events on the final lap of the Kansas race. As Bubba Wallace held the race lead, Denny Hamlin drove it deep to the bottom and ran up the track. He doored Wallace, and in turn, the latter also did not lift. This caused both Toyota drivers to lose momentum as Chase Elliott soared ahead. Despite his radio outburst, Wallace tried to temper his emotions in the post-race interview: “Two years ago, I’d probably say something dumb, like he’s a dumbass for that move, for sure. I don’t care if he’s my boss or not.” 

Indeed, Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota team could have captured the win, a crucial step in cracking the Round of 8 in the playoffs. He continued, “Well, the team had a shot at the win, the way we started…You could have fooled me, because we were not gonna be missing it on the final round speed. So I just really appreciate the team.” Wallace could not restrict his backlash at his team owner, especially considering 23XI’s dire situation. With a lawsuit teetering on the brink of disaster and a championship ambition slipping away, Wallace had reason to be upset. He added sarcastically, “All in all, the positive though, we were minus 27 coming in, minus 26 leaving – we gained a point.”

Yet at the same time, Wallace also recognized Hamlin’s common efforts under the Toyota bandwagon: “I hate that we gave it to Chevrolet; the Toyotas were super fast. And proud to be driving one. I thought it was meant to be, and then it wasn’t.” 

While Bubba Wallace nursed his wounds, his team owner did the same. Denny Hamlin’s spat with Wallace marked another in-house Toyota conflict.

A lot of reasons to regret

Remember the New Hampshire race from last weekend? Denny Hamlin got into a nasty fight with Ty Gibbs. The latter driver, the only non-playoff contender of JGR, was not giving room to his teammates. And that led to Hamlin’s on-track aggression – and a generally tense atmosphere at JGR. Now, Hamlin’s situation with Wallace created a greater rift inside the Toyota bandwagon. Hamlin finished second by just 0.069 seconds to Chase Elliott, coming short of tying Kevin Harvick with 60 victories for 10th on the all-time wins list. The veteran driver could not help but feel regret about these factors. He said, “Just super disappointing. Obviously, I wanted it bad. It would have been 60 for me.”

Yet Denny Hamlin also lamented his ill-judged moves with Bubba Wallace. His No. 11 Toyota pit crew’s efficiency was evident, with a total pit stop time of 37.34 seconds. After he led for 90 laps, Hamlin reached a 16,000-lap milestone in his NASCAR career. Yet all of this optimism went down the drain on the final lap, as Hamlin reflected: “The team just did an amazing job on the car. Really, really fast, gave me everything I needed. Got the restart I needed, just couldn’t finish it there on the last corner. Obviously, got really, really tight with the 23 [Wallace] and I got really tight, and we let the 9 [Elliott] win.”

Evidently, both Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace have immense regret after Kansas. With the upcoming team meetings at 23XI Racing looking to be tricky, let’s wait and see what turns out!