When Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan brought Charles Denike on board to replace Bootie Barker as Bubba Wallace’s crew chief, the move caught both Wallace and fans off guard.
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Still, Hamlin stood firm in his decision, trusting Denike’s sharp attention to detail, often taking quick notes during meetings, and his proven ability to craft race strategy not just for 23XI Racing but also for Joe Gibbs Racing.
The partnership got off to a promising start with Wallace winning Duel 1 at Daytona.
Although Wallace has yet to break his winless streak that has extended over the last two seasons, he appears to be in a better headspace.
And contrary to what some have assumed — that fatherhood alone reshaped his mindset — Wallace credits a lot of the shift to Denike’s influence. Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR, Wallace shared how his crew chief helped reframe his outlook:
“Where I’m at, is I can’t even compare where I’m at mentally compared to the years past of having a bad race at Texas… but I got out of the car and Charles gave me a laundry list of all the positive things we accomplished from the start of the week all the way until Sunday.”
“Listening to that, you don’t want to hear it, but then the list was so long that you’re forced to listen to it and it’s like damn, there is a lot more positives than this one negative.”
Wallace acknowledged the impact of that approach. Despite handling post-race media with his usual sarcastic tone — one that often irks many — he kept his cool. Once back on the bus, his response to himself was measured: “Well, that sucked. Let’s move on to Kansas.”
So far this season, Wallace has logged two top-fives and two top-tens. His last win came at Kansas in 2022, and with an average finish of 20.6 at the track, he’ll be looking to recapture that form on Sunday. In both 2023 Kansas races, he finished P17, starting P23, and P13, respectively.
But based on the speed he has shown this year, leading more laps than teammate Tyler Reddick [the reigning regular-season champion] (103 to 86), Wallace currently holds 11th in the playoff standings and has collected 100 stage points, the highest of any driver yet to visit Victory Lane.
Given those numbers, gambling on him to recreate his Kansas magic this Sunday wouldn’t be a stretch.
