The NASCAR star Bubba Wallace is being accused by his teammate Tyler Reddick of using the Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin’s ownership of 23XI Racing to his advantage on the track in a big way.
Reddick Sounds Off
Yardbarker reported that Hamlin co-owns 23XI Racing with the NBA legend Michael Jordan. While running this team, Hamlin also has to simultaneously fight for the championship for Joe Gibbs, which often puts him in the dilemma of having to race against his own cars.
According to Reddick, Wallace takes full advantage of this.
“I got the feeling pretty early on from Bubba that, you know, he tries to use Denny’s ownership in the team against him,” Reddick alleged in a new interview. “I try to save him from that… Well, like, you know, if you’re in Denny’s shoes, right, you don’t wanna tear up your own car and you don’t wanna wreck another one of your own cars right? Because I feel like he’s aware with how expensive this stuff can get.”
Reddick went on to say that Toyota drivers have an un-written code between them while engaging in duels.
“I feel like it’s something that is shared amongst I think a majority of the Toyota drivers,” he explained. “We all race each other, probably like the 95th percentile, and don’t go any further than that, cuz it’s not worth taking that risk and having something go wrong.”
Related: NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace Complains About Phoenix Track: ‘Really, Really F***in Hard’
Reddick’s Personal Relationship With Wallace
In this same interview, Reddick opened up about his own personal relationship with Wallace.
“On some weekends, we’re very very aligned on driving style and approach, and others, there’s quite a bit of difference,” he explained. “I wouldn’t say when we are apart it probably hurts us, it probably helps us. Because more times than not, the cars show up pretty much identical every single weekend.”
“But on the occasions when we do drive a bit differently, it’s really helpful that the cars are so close,” he continued. “Because Bubba’s approach might be a tenth better in turns 1 and 2, my approach might be better in turns 3 and 4. We’re able to compare…so that’s been beneficial.”
In the end, Reddick appears to think that his bond with Wallace is headed in the right direction.
“I feel like as teammates, there will be a time and place when we’ll race each other hard,” he said. “But when we know one is better than the other, or someone’s needing the spot more than the other, we do a really good job of just being good teammates.”
Check out Reddick’s full comments on this in the video below.
Related: Bubba Wallace “Questioning Everything” After What He Felt Was A Disappointing NASCAR Season
Wallace’s Outlook On This NASCAR Season
Last month, Wallace told NASCAR.com that his outlook for the season is “really good, the best I’ve felt mentally.”
“Turning 30, celebrating my one-year wedding anniversary, celebrating life, just having fun with life, letting the little stuff go, focus on the big stuff,” Wallace continued. “I go back and find myself watching 2014 truck races, back when you really couldn’t tell that kid nothing. He’d just jump in a truck and go rip. Didn’t have any self-doubt in the world. So, trying to bring that back, so I feel good.”
Wallace went on to explain that his new mindset is “just being aggressive, being confident. Self-confidence is what’s going to yield the results for us.”
Wallace has long been seen as somewhat of a controversial figure in the NASCAR world. The latest claims about him by Reddick likely will only add to his reputation as a polarizing racer.