Bubba Wallace silenced his critics by holding off his team owner, Denny Hamlin, to win the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on September 11, 2022.
This victory became a standout moment in Wallace’s career. Despite starting the season slowly, the Toyota driver surprised everyone with this win, earning praise, even from Denny Hamlin.
Wallace’s 2022 season had been challenging, with performance issues. He even collided with Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, resulting in a DNF for Larson and a one-race suspension for Wallace. However, his Kansas victory at age 30 quieted his detractors.
Wallace qualified sixth with a time of 30.124 seconds and a top speed of 179.259 mph, just 0.225 seconds behind leader Tyler Reddick. From the start, Wallace showed determination, battling competitors and steadily gaining positions.
By lap 32 of Stage 1, Wallace was fighting Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, and Ross Chastain for third place. He pitted due to loose tires on lap 84 and finished Stage 1 in fifth. By Stage 2’s end, he had moved up to fourth place.
On lap 225, Wallace took the lead and held it. Denny Hamlin began closing in, trailing Wallace by just 1.4 seconds by lap 262. Hamlin continued to reduce the gap, reaching 1.2 seconds behind Wallace on lap 266.
Nonetheless, Wallace maintained his lead, securing the second win of his NASCAR career. In his post-race interview, he expressed gratitude for his team and took satisfaction in proving his doubters wrong.
In the NextGen era, Wallace’s best season finish was 10th in 2023. With two wins, three poles, 19 top-five, and 34 top-ten finishes, Wallace has led 625 laps by September 2024.
In contrast, Denny Hamlin has performed at a much higher level. Finishing third in 2021 with two wins, Hamlin also led 1502 laps that year. In both 2022 and 2023, he finished fifth with five wins.
As of the 2024 season, Hamlin is in sixth place, progressing through the round of 12, while Wallace is ranked 19th with no wins.
