“Two years ago, I’d probably say something dumb [about Hamlin]. He’s a dumb–s for that move. I don’t care if he’s my boss or not. But we’re going for the win.” These raw and unfiltered words from Bubba Wallace captured the heat of the moment after the last-lap clash at Kansas Speedway. The move by Denny Hamlin not only derailed his his 60th Cup Series victory but also robbed Wallace of a strong finish, handing the win to Chase Elliott in a stunning overtime twist. As the garage buzzes with talk of that aggressive dive into Turn 3, the fallout lingers beyond the track.

Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing alongside Michael Jordan, holds a solid fourth in the playoff standings with a +48-point cushion above the cutline. In sharp contrast, his drivers Wallace and Tyler Reddick sit below it, at -26 and -29 points respectively, closing up on elimination as the Round of 12 is about to wrap up. With the series shifting to the Charlotte Roval for the decisive race, whispers grow about whether 23XI can rally or face an early exit. Amid this tension, Hamlin’s perspective on the incident offers a glimpse into the owner-driver divide.

Denny Hamlin sidesteps shop tension

In the latest episode of his “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Denny Hamlin faced a direct question from the host about potential awkwardness at 23XI’s Airspeed headquarters following the Kansas incident with Bubba Wallace. The host probed, “Is there going to be awkwardness when you go into airspeed today, or does every employee in that shop know that on Sunday, Denny Hamlin doesn’t work for us? He’s not on our team.”

Instead of addressing any personal rift or employee sentiments head-on, Hamlin pivoted to a broader discussion on unmet expectations, drawing from a prior temper flare-up to illustrate how assumptions can lead to hurt feelings. This dodge allowed him to avoid specifics on Wallace while shifting focus to the competitive nature of racing, where he emphasized that his driver role trumps ownership duties on Sundays.

Delving deeper, Hamlin substantiated his take by recounting the incident’s mechanics, insisting it wasn’t reckless. He explained, “I drove in; I just showed you the day, the last lap, to the same spot I drove in, every lap after restarts. Nothing was different other than I had no space between 23. If I could do it differently and I couldn’t figure it out because I turned. I know I turned aggressively, but my car went straight, and my guess is that I had so much rear downforce in that moment with the 23 right there on me.”

This defense ties back to the Next Gen car’s handling quirks, where Hamlin has previously noted the field runs similar speeds, making overtakes tricky without added downforce factors. The background here stems from Kansas, where Hamlin, battling power steering issues, led 159 laps but prioritized his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 over his 23XI ties, a stance rooted in his 59 career wins and championship pursuits.

The pressure on 23XI mounts as both Wallace and Reddick hover below the playoff cutline after subpar runs, like the team’s struggles at New Hampshire. Wallace’s frustration shone through when he flipped Hamlin off post-race, later saying, “I thought it was meant to be, and then it wasn’t.”

Hamlin acknowledged this competitively, noting, “If he were to flip me off at 23XI as the car owner, we would have an employer, employee problem but as a competitor, he flipped off the driver of the 11. I don’t have an issue with that.” This highlights the dual-role strain at 23XI‘s innovative Airspeed facility, a 114,000-square-foot hub opened in 2024 with a Silicon Valley vibe, where team morale could fray if elimination hits, amplifying speculation of internal fallout.

While Hamlin draws a clear line between his roles, his unyielding approach extends to accountability for the clash.

Hamlin stands firm: No apology for racing hard

Denny Hamlin made his position crystal clear on the podcast, refusing to back down from the Kansas move that upended Bubba Wallace’s race. He declared, “If [listeners are] wanting an apology, they can turn it off now. Because I’m racing for the win and I definitely won’t apologize for racing for the win. On Sunday, I am the driver. The person in the No. 11 car is the driver. That’s where the disconnect, I think, comes from—that people expect me to be a different person. It’s not possible.”

This creates a clear delimiting line on his tasks with a history of balancing ownership of 23XI, which in 2020 he co-founded with Michael Jordan, and working full-time in another organization, a setup that necessitates the separation to prevent conflicts at critical times like playoffs.

Expanding on this, Hamlin emphasized his priorities: “My responsibilities as team owner come Monday through Saturday. My responsibility is to get the No. 11 into the Round of 8. I’m the driver on Sunday of that No. 11. [Joe Gibbs] pays me a lot of money to make sure that that car wins a championship or has a shot to.”

This is influenced by priorities such as recent on-track crashes with his own cars, which compels the view that competition instincts reign on race day, and then there is all the business of being a team owner of 23×1. Although it may lead 23XI to bitter results in their struggle to move forward.