The heated discussion Darrell Wallace Jr. and Denny Hamlin had in the garage following the Daytona 500 stemmed from Hamlin’s previous comments that a majority of drivers were taking Adderall and Wallace taking exception with those remarks.
Darrell Wallace Jr., Denny Hamlin explain heated confrontation after Daytona 500
Darrell Wallace Jr. and Denny Hamlin had some heated words for one another in the garage following the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
Wallace and Hamlin made contact drag racing for second on the final lap of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, resulting in Wallace hitting the outside wall just after they had crossed the finish line. Afterward, Wallace told Fox: “(Hamlin) might need to take some Adderall for that one.”
Wallace was referencing comments Hamlin made on a Barstool Sports podcast on Friday, saying that 70 percent of Cup Series drivers take Adderall to help them stay focused. Hamlin later clarified those comments, saying he was merely kidding on a podcast known for its frivolity.
But while Hamlin may been downplayed his remarks, Wallace took exception with what he said and that played a role in their post-race confrontation. The two have since communicated and Wallace told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday he doesn’t have any carryover heading into this weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“At the garage, he was upset with me over the comments I made about something he was joking about, which shouldn’t have been joked about,” Wallace said. “We’re actually texting each other right now, we’re still not happy. I’m OK, he’s not. We’re racers, and we’ll go to Atlanta and be battling each other.
“I told him we’ll be racing together for a long time so I wanted to step out and reach out and clear the air. We’ll see how long it takes to officially clear the air.”
Wallace finished a career-best second Sunday, and part of his frustration stemmed from not being able to celebrate the result with his Richard Petty Motorsports team. Afterward, the 24-year-old gave an emotional press conference.
“You’re always going to get emotion and raw and pureness out of me after every race no matter how we finish,” Wallace said. “I watch some of these interviews and I’m like man ‘I wish I could be a little bit more like that and show off my likeness a little bit more,’ but at the end of the day that is going against what I always talk about and how it’s being me. I don’t need to change to be anybody else. I don’t want to change for anybody else. For people to see that and latch on it makes you feel really good.”
Following Wallace’s interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Hamlin posted a series of tweets explaining his side of events.
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