As we headed into the 2023 season, there were high hopes regarding Bubba Wallace. Especially after the comments from his boss, Denny Hamlin, who was impressed by the latter half of Wallace’s run last season. Although, now with just a handful of races remaining in the regular season, things do not look so good for the 23XI Racing driver to finally get into the playoffs for the first time in his Cup career.
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While speaking to the media ahead of the Cup race in New Hampshire, Hamlin remained critical of Wallace’s performance so far, considering it’s only so many races before Wallace gets chucked off the postseason once again. Although, he did mention how he know the problems that existed within the team and wished for everything to get better.
Denny Hamlin talks about Bubba Wallace’s 2023 season so far
Speaking to the Frontstretch, Hamlin acknowledged the organizational problems at 23XI Racing. Although he mentioned that the team had been fairing reasonably well, he expected them to do better.
Hamlin stated, “They’re running OK. Certainly, would like to see a little more performance, a little more execution on the team’s part. The team has its fair share of growing that they need to do. The drivers, as long as they do their part, then it’s up for us to make sure the team executes. They let him down in some spots, for sure. We all have to get better.”
Bubba Wallace talks about his own season and what he needs to do
Later on, Wallace was also quizzed by the media regarding his 2023 campaign. He made it clear that winning a race was the most important thing on their agenda at the moment. He also went on to elaborate on the mistakes that they had been running into and how they wished to eliminate those mistakes altogether.
Wallace stated, “We want to win. We know we have to win. We can’t point our way into a championship, so we need to win. We need to win early enough to lock ourselves in. If we can’t do that, it would be unfortunate, but we have to point our way, too. Mistakes don’t create points, so we have to eliminate mistakes to get points.”
Well, it is good to hear that both Hamlin and Wallace understand the problems and are willing to work to improve them. But considering that it’s only seven races before the postseason kicks off at Darlington, there’s limited time to get a win in the basket.
If he does that, well, this would mark the first time he’d enter the playoffs. But if someone else wins ahead of him rounding up the top 16, this year would carry on as another disappointing season for Wallace. The stakes are at an all-time high.
Will Wallace be able to prove himself?
