Denny Hamlin ‘learned from his past mistakes’ and hopes Bubba Wallace Jr. can do the same

Bubba Wallace Jr. had a tumultuous season last year. Having clinched his second victory in the Cup Series, he finally got rid of the asterisk that came with his first. Challenging at the sharp end of the field for most of the second half of the season, 23XI Racing finally started to show the potential that many knew they possessed.

Denny Hamlin, co-owner and a full-time driver himself in the highest echelon of the sport, is wary of the progress his team has been making over the past season. Along with supporting his drivers through their highs on the track, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was also one to critique his drivers once they made mistakes. One of the biggest forms of criticism came from not only Hamlin, but a lot of the NASCAR community after Bubba Wallace Jr. and Kyle Larson came together at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last year.

The incident, which saw the #23 Toyota Camry TRD driver retaliate against Larson's on-track racing etiquette, was met with much displeasure from the community. However, team co-owner Denny Hamlin now thinks Wallace Jr. can look back and learn from his mistakes, and said:

"I can use my own life experience both on and off the racetrack, that I can sympathize with him. I've made big mistakes as well and each one of them I've learned from in some way, shape, or form. I think it's no different with him, I think he learned from that."

Watch Bubba Wallace Jr. take another shot at winning the Daytona 500 this year after finishing in the runner-up spot last season.

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Bubba Wallace Jr. outlines his expectations ahead of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season

Ahead of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series regular season due to start this coming weekend, 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace Jr. has set goals for himself and his team that they hope to achieve in the year going forward. Coming off a strong second half of 2022, 23XI Racing and the #23 crew have their eyes set on the prize.

Wallace Jr. elaborated on the same and said:

"Dabbling inside the top-5 is okay, but I think we're at that point now where the communication and the atmosphere and the camaraderie within our team is well beyond playoff potential."

The 2023 regular season kicks off this weekend at Daytona International Speedway for the 65th Daytona 500.