Denny Hamlin fell merely 0.069 seconds short of bagging his 60th career victory on Sunday, September 28, at Kansas Speedway. He did everything he could, leading race-high laps, and even sliding up Bubba Wallace (in the second overtime), driver for 23XI Racing, which Hamlin owns.That being said, Hamlin wasn’t sorry for going all out on Wallace because he thinks his responsibilities as a driver come first. However, some thought that Hamlin could have taken it a bit easier on Wallace, who was also competing for a championship.Responding to the fans who think an apology is due, Denny Hamlin said (via Actions Detrimental):“If they're wanting an apology, they can turn off now. On Sunday, I am the driver. People expect me to be the guy with the 23XI shirt on when I'm in the #11 car and that's just not possible. Zero doubts in my mind, I was racing the #23 the same as I would race anybody in that moment.”“My responsibilities as a team owner comes Monday through Saturday,” Denny Hamlin further explained. “It is not up to me to get 23XI into the Round of 8. My responsibility is to get the #11 into the Round of 8. Joe (Gibbs) pays me a lot of money to make sure that car wins a championship.”Denny Hamlin is currently the longest-tenured driver in the NASCAR Cup Series without a championship. He is at 59 career wins, which means that one more will tie him with Kevin Harvick on the all-time wins list. Sitting fourth in the driver standings, the Tampa, Florida native owns a 48-point cushion on the cutoff line.Next up for Hamlin is the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway road course. Scheduled for next Sunday, October 5, the 109-lap event will be televised on USA with live radio updates on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio from 3 p.m. ET onwards.“I don’t care if he’s my boss or not”- Bubba Wallace sends a clear message to Denny Hamlin after the Kansas situationDenny Hamlin drove all day like he didn’t owe anything to anybody. He had one goal: winning the race and advancing directly to the Round of 8. Naturally, Bubba Wallace, the only 23XI driver who qualified for the 2025 playoffs through wins, also wanted the same for himself.So when Denny Hamlin made contact with him, letting Chase Elliott sneak past and bag the checkered flag, Wallace was somewhat pissed. During a post-race interview, he said:“Two years ago, I’d probably say something dumb. He’s a dumbass for that move. I don’t care if he’s my boss or not. But we’re going for the win. I hate that we gave it to Chevrolet there.”“Toyotas were super-fast, and proud to be driving one. I thought it was meant to be, and then it wasn’t. All in all, the positives, though, we were minus 26 coming in — or minus 27 coming in. We’re minus 26 leaving,” he added.This means that Wallace gained a point after finishing fifth at Kansas. The Alabama native currently sits 10th in the championship standings with a 26-point deficit on the cutoff line.