Title: Denny Hamlin Blasts Bubba Wallace for Daytona Pileup: “Not Clear!”
In a shocking turn of events just 27 laps into the high-stakes regular season finale at the legendary Daytona International Speedway, chaos erupted as a massive multi-car wreck ensnared nearly a dozen vehicles, including bubble driver Alex Bowman. The catalyst for this pandemonium? None other than Bubba Wallace, who found himself ensnared in a fierce battle with Joey Logano and Kyle Busch in the tri-oval, leading to a catastrophic conclusion for both himself and his 23XI Racing teammate, Riley Herbst.
Denny Hamlin, Wallace’s boss and a veteran driver in his own right, took to his popular podcast, Actions Detrimental, to dissect the wreck with the kind of detail that only a seasoned racer can provide. He didn’t hold back, stating emphatically, “It looked like to me that Bubba just squeezed those two guys below him down.” Hamlin elaborated on the situation, highlighting the precarious positioning of the cars involved. “You could just see that they’re there, two cars on the inside. I don’t know what Freddie [Kraft, #23 spotter] was calling. Maybe he was saying three wide top or not — I’m not sure, but he just squeezed on down there and there was no room.”
Hamlin’s analysis didn’t stop there. While some observers speculated that Kyle Larson, who was pushing Wallace at the time, may have contributed to the incident, Hamlin firmly disagreed. “I’m looking at it and I don’t think so. The #5 [Larson] was already on him close, but no. That’s just the #23 not clear. It’s just one of those not clear moments.”
As the dust settled from the wreck, Hamlin managed to soldier on to a disappointing 25th-place finish, continuing a troubling trend of lackluster performances at this iconic track. This result marks a continuation of his struggles at Daytona, having crashed on the final lap of the 2025 Daytona 500 while battling for victory and failing to secure a finish better than 17th in any of the eight Next Gen era races at the famed superspeedway. This is quite a startling statistic for a driver who has previously triumphed three times at the Daytona 500 with the prior generation of car.
As fans reflect on this wild night of racing, one thing is clear: tensions are high in the NASCAR world, and the stakes are only getting higher. Will Bubba Wallace take heed of Hamlin’s critique, or will this crash serve as just another chapter in the ongoing saga of Daytona’s unpredictable nature? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain – the drama on the track is far from over!
