Denny Hamlin 'proud' of the driver, man Bubba Wallace is becoming

Bubba Wallace didn’t exactly produce the best finish at Watkins Glen over the weekend, but 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin was still incredibly proud of the driver. He gave the 29-year-old major props for his 12th place run at the road course.

Wallace remains above the cut line for NASCAR‘s playoffs with the regular season winding down. He either needs to pick up a win, or hope another first-time winner doesn’t emerge at Daytona International Speedway this weekend.

In his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin raved about the season Wallace has enjoyed this year.

“I’m rooting for Bubba. I want him to run whatever race he needs to run to get himself in the playoffs,” Hamlin said. “I think he deserves it, I think he’s been working really hard. You saw the emotion he had after Watkins Glen. That emotion stems from someone who is working really, really hard and he’s finally seeing results.

“You know what, he finished 12th. But he ran in the top-10 of both stages. Legitimately. It’s been a long damn time — maybe never — has that been the case for Bubba on a road course. So, I wanna give him props, applaud him, pat him on the back. … I’m proud of him. I’m proud of the work he’s putting in. We’ve had a lot of talk and dialogue the night before the race, talking about little things we see. He’s more open to showing humility and wanting to get better.”

Wallace currently sits 14th in the driver standings. He doesn’t own a victory yet this season but has finished inside the top-10 six times with four runs inside the top-five. But more than his success on the track, Hamlin said he’s most proud of how Wallace has grown up as a person and a driver.

“He’s grown up. … I’m really proud of the man he’s becoming, the competitor he’s becoming, the leader he’s becoming. Listen, we still let him down at times as a race team. We do. … He’s a great driver and he’s continuing to get better.”

NASCAR closes out the regular season this weekend at Daytona. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 26 with the green flag waving at 7 p.m. ET. NBC carries the coverage for the event.

Can Wallace get a win and secure his spot in the playoffs? Will he finish high enough to remain above the cut line? There’s plenty of drama for Wallace and the 23XI Racing team entering Saturday’s race.