While Denny Hamlin led at Martinsville, he started to lap his driver Bubba Wallace. That’s when the two got into one another. NASCAR fans weren’t sure what to think of the driver and owner making contact. Was it more than just rough racing?
On his latest episode of Actions Detrimental, Denny went into the supposed controversy. When you race against cars that you own, this is something that can happen. You don’t want your drivers to just give up their position and not fight for themselves.
Hamlin laughed a bit about the Bubba Wallace thing as he talked about what went down.
“Me and Bubba got into it,” Hamlin acknowledged. While he was trying to lap Wallace, the No. 23 put up quite the fight and then some.
“So, I was behind Bubba for a really long time and I’m getting frustrated and I’m like ‘Gosh dang it.’ I moved up and he moved up in front of me and I just did that for about 3 or 4 laps and I’m like I gotta dive it in here. So, I dove in, he came down we hit, I knocked him up the track then he for four straight laps had my rear tires off the race track. I told him afterwards, ‘If you wanted to hit me that was fine for like once or twice but like, eventually you gotta get off my ass. I am the leader of the race.’”
At the end of the day, it was hard racing and two competitors putting aside their relationship off the track to do their best on the track.
“It’s just a situation where he’s fighting because he knows how important it is to stay on the lead lap and I am fighting to put all these guys a lap down.”
Denny Hamlin Knows What is Wrong With NASCAR
On the subject of Denny Hamlin trying to pass Bubba Wallace, let’s talk about passing. NASCAR is severely lacking in passability. That has been obvious since last season, although it seems to somehow be worse now.
While Hamlin was talking about this weekend’s Martinsville race, he pointed out the three things that were holding NASCAR back on the track. Fewer RPMs, less horsepower, and no tire fall-off.
“We’re really hurting our on-track product with this initiative to lower RPMs, lower horsepower. It’s just not good, in my opinion.”
When cars are able to just lead from the start of the stage until the end with no challenge from anyone else, that’s not good racing. It is frustrating and turns the event into less about the drivers and more about how lucky they are to get a caution at the right time.
NASCAR has some decisions to make for sure.