CONCORD, N.C. — Bubba Wallace says his frustration with Denny Hamlin lasted throughout the week until they met Saturday morning at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Hamlin and Wallace were racing for the lead on the final lap of last weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway when Hamlin moved up the track, forcing Wallace into the wall. Chase Elliott drove by on the inside to win and advance to the Round of 8.
Wallace made it clear Saturday at the Charlotte Roval that he wasn’t upset with Hamlin for racing him for the win — that’s expected even with Hamlin the co-owner of Wallace’s 23XI Racing car.
Wallace’s disappointment was with Hamlin not running low as they raced side-by-side to keep Elliott behind them and allowing them to race for the win.
Wallace’s feelings intensified during the week as Hamlin said on his podcast that he didn’t need to apologize.
“It was just the way it was kind of handled behind the scenes, just kept going, kept adding fuel to the fire,” Wallace said. “I hate that it got to that point and I expressed my displeasure to Denny today and he totally respected that.”
Tyler Reddick will be joined by Shane van Gisbergen on the front row for Sunday’s Cup playoff elimination race.
Hamlin told reporters Saturday he thought all was good between them, especially after Wallace came over and gave Hamlin a brief embrace on pit road after last weekend’s race.
“I didn’t, truthfully, know he was upset,” Hamlin said. “If I’m being honest, I listened to his post-race (interview) and when I heard him say it was two guys going for it and he came over and shook my hand — it was quick but he did — I truthfully didn’t know he was upset. But I should have at least checked with him to make sure and that’s on me.”
The Round of 8 field will be set on the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.
Hamlin said there wasn’t a meeting until Saturday because he wanted to do so face-to-face.
Where do things stand between the two drivers?
“It was a good, heart-to-heart conversation,” Wallace said. “It came from a place of peace. It went better than I thought it would. He shared his side of things, and I shared mine and we had common ground.”
NASCAR also includes declarations from some Cup owners, including Rick Hendrick, voicing their support for the charter system.
After last weekend’s race, Wallace reached out to Bell for a late-race incident. Wallace ran Bell up the track after the final restart last weekend at Kansas and sent Bell a note after the race.
“I texted (Bell) after the race and said my full intentions were to make you lift, not put you in the fence, and I apologized for that,” Wallace told reporters Saturday. “He took it, I guess, as best as he could, but I reached out immediately because I saw the replay after the fact, and was like (darn), I did not want that.”
Shane van Gisbergen goes for five in a row on road courses Sunday.
Said Bell about receiving the apology from Wallace: “I appreciated that he acknowledged it for sure. It is what it is.”
So do apologies matter?
“Absolutely,” Bell said. “I’m a big believer in apologies. The actions afterward matter equally as much, but apologies absolutely do matter.”
