"At 23XI we let JGR handle it" - Denny Hamlin responds to Aric Almirola's suspension amid feud with Bubba Wallace

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin shared his thoughts on the altercation between Bubba Wallace and Aric Almirola ahead of the Ally 400 race at Nashville Superspeedway. The feud between the two Toyota drivers led to Almirola's suspension in the Xfinity Series.

According to The Athletic, Almirola, the part-time Xfinity driver for JGR, was the instigator of a scuffle with Wallace at a competition meeting ahead of the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25. Almirola was subsequently suspended and will reportedly return for the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 20.

In a recent media interaction, the 23XI Racing co-owner Hamlin was asked about his stance on the physical altercation that took place last month between his 23XI driver Wallace and NASCAR veteran Almirola. Hamlin responded (via Cup Scene):

"I don't really have a comment on it because I wasn't there at the time. So I don't know what all transpired. It's all hearsay from my standpoint and at 23XI we let Joe Gibbs Racing handle it and they did what they saw fit. So, I don't know all the details because I didn't want to get too much into the personal business and still don't," Hamlin said (at 11:14).

NASCAR is currently at Nashville Superspeedway for the 19th race of the 2024 Cup Series season where Hamlin clinched his second pole. The JGR veteran had a lap speed of 160.354 mph on the 1.330-mile oval track and clinched the pole in 29.859 seconds.

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"I feel pretty confident" - Denny Hamlin on starting the Ally 400 in pole position

Denny Hamlin won his 42nd pole position of his career and was 0.095 faster than his JGR teammate Christopher Bell in P2. After finishing outside the top 20 in the last three races, Hamlin is looking forward to a solid race result at Nashville Superspeedway.

Hamlin said in a post-qualifying media interaction (via NASCAR):

"Felt pretty good about it all day. Seems like we definitely have fixed some of the things we weren’t very good with last year. I definitely feel pretty good about it and we’ll certainly work on it overnight to make it a little bit better and I feel pretty confident that tomorrow we’ll be in contention."

Hamlin is currently in P3 in the overall Cup Series standings. He has confirmed his spot in the playoffs with three wins. Hamlin also has seven top-fives and eight top-ten finishes so far this season.