KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Bubba Wallace was driving the cooldown lap at Kansas Speedway after finishing fifth, when he approached the back bumper of his employer Denny Hamlin. Wallace drove alongside the 23XI Racing team co-owner that had just finished second.
Then, upon passing the man that signs his paychecks, he flipped him off.
With one lap to go, Wallace and Hamlin were side-by-side in a heated and thrilling finish to the second-longest NASCAR Cup Series race in Kansas history. Upon entering turn 3, Hamlin entered the corner below the Alabama native and drifted up the track into him, sending the car he owns into the wall.
It allowed Hendrick Motorsports driver and playoff rival Chase Elliott to slip through on the bottom and win his way into the Round of 8. Wallace, who is below the cutline and now faces elimination, had to settle for fifth as a result.
“Two years ago, I’d probably say something dumb,” Wallace told USA Network post-race. “He’s a dumbass for that move, for sure. I don’t care if he’s my boss or not.”
Hamlin, who lost power steering with around 50 laps to go, could only lament on his disappointment.
“Just massive disappointment,” Hamlin said post-race. “I just don’t even know how else you say it. Just massive disappointment. I’m thinking all race is, ‘this is just our race.'”
The No. 11 had the most dominant car all of Sunday (Sept. 28) by literal miles. He not only paced 159 of the 273 laps run — over 100 more laps than the second-most — but he also swept both stages and set the fastest lap.
While still hunting for his first career Cup Series title, it seemed like today was finally going to be the day that he earned that coveted 60th career victory. It has been a benchmark he has been aiming at for years.
“I’d love to get my 60th here at the track where I got my very first start,” Hamlin said. “That was on my mind, was 60. That was it, and in a race that we dominated, it was the best car, had good stops, I’m thinking, ‘find a way to get 60.'”
For Wallace, however, the day wasn’t as glamorous.
The No. 23 started in seventh but struggled right from the beginning. By the beginning of the first round of green-flag pit stops, Wallace had fallen all the way back to 19th.
While missing out on stage points in the first segment, crew chief Charles Denike loosened up his car to his driver’s liking enough for a run into the top 10. Wallace finished sixth in stage two.
“Every stint that went by my smile got bigger,” Wallace recalled. “We were getting back up to the front, and it was nice to see everybody sticking together. Intensity ramps up, the emotions ramp up and I’m vocal like, ‘We need to fix our car immediately.’ And they kept their heads down, gave me the appropriate adjustments, and we made it work, and we had a shot for the win.”
However, the final 15 laps saw the opening of pandoras box. A debris caution re-racked the field that was being lead by a fast Hamlin. The Virginian was suffering from a power steering failure and was fatigued from having to drive without it for so long.
Things got worse for Hamlin on the pit stop, too. The No. 11 had a slow stop that set him back to seventh. Wallace, who was in the top five, capitalized.
After two overtime restarts, Wallace found himself in the lead next to Toyota teammate Christopher Bell. Coming to the white flag, he cleared the No. 20. Right behind him, however, was Hamlin, who had charged through the top five on the restart and passed Bell to take second.
Exiting turn 2, Hamlin crossed over to the bottom of the No. 23 Toyota and challenged him down the backstretch. However, upon entering turn 3, it was clear he had carried too much speed. With no power steering, he drifted into Wallace, sending both of them into the wall.
“If I had to do it all over again, I think I’d run a little bit lower to allow a space between us so I don’t get so tight and then try to turn the wheel,” Hamlin said. “At the end I got no power steering. I’m trying everything I can, and obviously, really difficult and just super disappointed that I couldn’t finish this one out.”
For Hamlin, who is still 48 points above the cutline, it meant missing out on a 60th win for one more week. For Wallace, it meant losing an automatic berth into the Round of 8.
“You can’t talk to him,” Wallace said of Hamlin. “I mean, I’ve always been big on, ‘How you race me is how I race you.’ No matter who you are, what it is, we race hard. We race hard every week.
“Toyota drivers race really hard every week, but we respect each other, and there’s a fine line that sometimes gets crossed and you have to understand that.”
Wallace now sits 10th in the standings, 26 points below the cutline heading into the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loud column, co-host of the Frontstretch Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.
Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT