Denny Hamlin sends message to Bubba Wallace as | Sports News

Three races into the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, 23XI Racing owns the highlight.

But whereas Tyler Reddick’s historic begin has dominated headlines, Denny Hamlin is making sure Bubba Wallace’s progress doesn’t get misplaced within the glare.

Yet as Reddick celebrated one other journey to Victory Lane, Wallace quietly left COTA sitting second in factors regardless of an Eleventh-place end. On his podcast ‘Actions Detrimental,’ Hamlin made it clear that Wallace’s growth, notably on highway programs, deserves recognition.

“He should be just so proud of his evolution on road courses,” Hamlin stated. “He downplays it quite a bit, you know, ‘I struggle.’ Yeah, maybe compared to your teammate in Tyler Reddick. But versus the field, Bubba was a mid-20s, I would say, when he first came to 23XI, where he was on road courses was mid-20s. That might be a little optimistic.”

Hamlin then outlined the place he believes Wallace stands now.

“I think he is a solid, back half of the top 10 as far as able to get speed and his craft on road courses now,” he stated. “I think he’s really taken some big steps. What that allows him to do is now again he’s P2 in points, getting going to a bunch of ovals. So, they love where they’re at, as they should.”

The statistics show incremental progress slightly than dominance, however the trend backs Hamlin’s argument.

Wallace completed eighth at Watkins Glen final season and ninth on the Charlotte ROVAL in 2024. At COTA this 12 months, he climbed from twenty fourth to Eleventh and scored stage factors alongside the best way, advancing steadily by way of the sector within the remaining stint.

Across the final two seasons, Wallace’s average end on highway programs sits within the mid-teens, a notable enchancment from earlier years when finishes within the 20s had been common.

At COTA, he restarted twenty fourth late within the race and labored his means ahead, passing a number of vehicles within the closing laps to secure Eleventh, simply behind Hamlin.

Through three races, he has not completed increased than eighth, but stays second within the standings. He trails Reddick by 70 factors however holds a sizable cushion above the playoff cut line in a season the place NASCAR elevated the worth of wins from 40 to 55 factors and positioned renewed emphasis on regular-season standings.

Reddick’s average end is a good 1.00, and he leads the collection in laps led. Wallace ranks second in laps led and owns one of the highest average finishes within the discipline. The No. 23 Toyota has proven pace at each kind of observe up to now — superspeedway, intermediate oval and highway course.