23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace entered Sunday afternoon's round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval sitting 26 points below the cut line, and after scoring no stage points en route to a 15th place finish in the Bank of America Roval 400, he found himself 24 points below the cutoff and thus eliminated from championship contention.
Everyone who has ever heard a Bubba Wallace post-race interview knew exactly what the first two words would be, and even though he has made a marked improvement in 2025 when it comes to controlling his emotions following a frustrating afternoon, he did not disappoint.
After his elimination, the driver of the No. 23 Toyota was asked about what needed to go differently for himself and the team in order to stave off elimination at Charlotte.
"Last week," Wallace said, referencing the race at Kansas Speedway before actually addressing his and the No. 23 team's shortcomings at the Roval.
Denny Hamlin ultimately eliminated his own team
Of course, we all know exactly what he was referring to. He was leading the race at Kansas on the final lap before 23XI Racing team co-owner Denny Hamlin ran him up the race track in turns three and four.
Wallace had to settle for fifth place and called the Joe Gibbs Racing driver a "f****** douche" on the radio before flipping him off and then calling him a "dumbass" in his post-race interview. Hamlin didn't even win the race, as the intense battle opened up the door for Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott to sneak away with his second win of the year.
Had Wallace won, Team Penske's Joey Logano, the three-time and reigning series champion, would have been eliminated from title contention. In fact, Logano was almost eliminated after all, but it was ironically Hamlin once again who kept him in the mix by passing Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain on the final lap at the Charlotte Roval.
Chastain had been one point ahead of Logano for the eighth and final spot in the round of 8. With Hamlin ahead of him entering the final chicane of the 17-turn, 2.32-mile (3.734-kilometer) Concord, North Carolina track, Chastain ran into the back of him, causing both drivers to spin. Logano ended up finishing ahead of both and was classified as four points ahead of Chastain.
Hamlin still advanced comfortably, as he was 33 points ahead of Chastain, and that massive gap is what played a role in just how much Hamlin was criticized after the Kansas race.
23XI Racing's other driver, Tyler Reddick, finished 12 points below Logano for the eighth and final round of 8 spot after entering the afternoon 29 points out. He started on pole but could only manage a 10th place finish.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is set to open up the round of 8 on Sunday, October 12 with the South Point 400. USA Network's live coverage is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action!