“I just don’t understand what he did wrong there”: Denny Hamlin makes his opinion clear on Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman’s Chicago drama

23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace was involved in a heated moment with Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman during the Grant 165 held on Sunday, July 6, 2025, at Chicago Street Course. Following that, the team's co-owner, Denny Hamlin, recently gave his take on the situation during his podcast Actions Detrimental on YouTube.

Wallace and Bowman battled hard during the closing laps of the 75-mile race for a seventh-place finish. The duo collided multiple times before Bowman spun him out on lap 70. This sent the #23 Toyota Camry XSE driver to the back of the pack, ending his chance at a top-ten finish.

Reflecting on the situation, Denny Hamlin stated:

"If you're the 48, I mean, I tried every way I could. I'm looking, I'm watching the replay, and I'm like, 48? I don't; I just don't understand really kind of what he did wrong there. You know, he got pinched into the wall off of 12. His bump into Bubba into one wasn't like egregious or anything." [32:14 onwards]

"And I think it wasn't even like square in the back. It was kind of the left rear where Bubba was trying to clear himself, and at that time Bubba was on older tires. The 48 is on newer tires. You're just not going to hold that back in six laps. It's just impossible. You're not going to do it. We saw the speed difference between new and old tires," he concluded.

Bubba Wallace fell from the top ten drivers to the end and finished the 75-mile race in P28. On the other hand, Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman finished in P8, while Shane van Gisbergen took home the win.

---

Bubba Wallace opened up about the pressure he felt from his teammate Tyler Reddick's performance in the 2025 season

A while ago, NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace was featured on the 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick's "Happy Hour" podcast on YouTube. During the podcast, Wallace opened up about feeling under pressure from his teammate Tyler Reddick's performance in the 2025 Cup Series season.

Reflecting on the same, the #23 Toyota Camry XSE driver told Harvick:

"Seeing the success of the 45, not from a jealousy standpoint, but it's like 'I have the same stuff,' and I feel like I'm just as competitive as Tyler. I put all that weight on me, that pressure on me. So, I'm back in the gym, and nobody's telling me, 'Hey, you need to work out to run better; you need to be in more meetings to understand better.' I took that upon myself as, like, 'I'm doing just enough to get by, and that's not okay." [05:20 onwards]

Bubba Wallace fell from the top ten drivers on the points table to P13 following his six unfortunate DNFs this season. Additionally, he has secured 443 points, six top-ten finishes, and three top-five finishes in 19 starts.

Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick has secured 584 points and ranks fifth on the Cup Series points table. Also, he has secured seven top-ten finishes and five top-five finishes with one position in 19 starts this season.