Denny Hamlin risks Michael Jordan anger with "best 8" NASCAR remark

Denny Hamlin from Joe Gibbs Racing might have stirred the pot with Michael Jordan and Bubba Wallace after boldly stating that the top eight drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are simply the best, implying that 23XI Racing's Wallace doesn't make the cut .

Chasing his elusive first NASCAR Cup Series championship at 43 years old, Hamlin, who has made it to the Round of 8, expressed confidence in the current playoff lineup on his "Actions Detrimental" podcast.

Despite co-owning 23XI Racing, which saw Tyler Reddick advance but not Wallace, with basketball icon Jordan, Hamlin remarked: "It's hard to believe, and NASCAR will use that as their selling point, 'See, you guys survived. We need to throw more at you. We need to have a jump and have you running through hoops. We're going to have you running through hoops of fire, and then you're going to have to do something else.'"

He added dismissively about the competition, "NASCAR, they love these little gimmicks here and there. In all seriousness, you've got the best eight. The best eight is in there."

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"It's going to be tough. It's going to be tough because all of these teams, they're all threats to win any of these three races, and they're all threats to run P1 through P8 all three races. I think it's just going to be a heavyweight battle."

Hamlin has previously expressed his thoughts on Wallace, notably at the end of the regular season when he had mixed emotions - celebrating his own advancement to the playoffs alongside Reddick, while consoling Wallace, who narrowly missed the cut by 27 points. "It's a tough spot because you want to celebrate with your team that accomplished something great," Hamlin said at Darlington.

"You know Tyler Reddick and that whole 45 team and what they were able to do this year for the first 26 races. And then you've also got to put your arm around the other (Wallace) and say 'Keep digging.'"

Hamlin offered words of encouragement to Wallace, acknowledging that he has room for improvement. "That's just part of the process and it's part of getting better," Hamlin added.

"We've seen throughout Bubba's 23XI career that he continues to get better when it comes to how many points he's scoring, how many top fives, how many top tens."

"He's progressing in the manner that we're hoping he progresses. Truly enough, if you can find a way to bottle up whatever has been inside you for the last ten races and just copy and paste it for next year for the 26 races, you won't have this discussion, you won't be on the bubble."