"Playoffs every year": Denny Hamlin sets the expectations straight for Bubba Wallace after contract extension

Denny Hamlin recently shared his thoughts on Bubba Wallace extending his contract with 23XI Racing. The #23 driver, who was the first-ever driver in the team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, recently signed a multi-year contract extension.

Since 2021, Wallace has won 2 races and scored 16 top-five finishes. While he made the playoffs in 2023, the 30-year-old fell short of a playoff spot this season.

During a recent post-conference, Denny Hamlin was asked about his expectations from Bubba Wallace and the team for the upcoming season, to which he replied:

"The #23 team needs to make the Playoffs every year. I think that is our expectation, and then make a deep run and finish in the top 10 in points. That is kind of our expectation of kind of where we are at. Just getting in, it is hard for me to say that is the only expectation, but it is an expectation, given the standards we are giving ourselves. He knows that he needs to get better. I think he has gotten better," Hamlin said. [5:25]

Hamlin reasoned that Wallace has to continue to get better and improve considering what's expected of him at 23XI Racing.

However, despite his improvement, Wallace has been outperformed by his teammate Tyler Reddick, who not only won more races but also clinched the regular season championship this year.

Denny Hamlin also addressed the logic behind 23XI leadership offering a contract extension, mentioning that Bubba's zeal to improve was what stood out while making the decision.

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Denny Hamlin deems Bubba Wallace's willingness to grow as a factor in his contract extension

During the same press interaction ahead of Bristol, Denny Hamlin was about the growth Wallace had gone through 'behind the scenes', throughout his years with 23XI Racing.

In response, Hamlin detailed Bubba Wallace's willingness to continuously improve as a positive aspect and also discussed how the driver was becoming more willing to take assistance from others if the need arose.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver further said:

"Certainly, we’ve seen from my standpoint more pace on road course, more pace at tracks typically that he wasn’t as fast at, that he needed to be, so I think all of that is good. His feedback has gotten better. That is very, very important. As long as he continues on that trajectory, he will be fine," Hamlin said [7:35].

It'll be interesting to see how Bubba Wallace fares this season now that his future with 23XI Racing is secured. The #23 driver has five finishes inside the top 5 but has been winless so far. His last race win came exactly 2 years ago at Kansas and will be looking to change it in the remaining 8 races.