The opening foray into the NASCAR season took place Sunday at Bowman Gray, where Bubba Wallace debuted to a P5 finish after starting in 14th. It was a finish he was quite pleased with.

Expectations remain high for the veteran driver, particularly with everything going on off the track around 23XI. None of those potential distractions seem to have gotten to Wallace.

“He’s been locked in all offseason,” Denny Hamlin said on his Actions Detrimental Podcast. “Call it fatherhood, call it whatever you want to call it, but he’s been locked in all offseason.”

One major change is in store for Bubba Wallace this season, too. No longer is Bootie Barker his crew chief. Barker had served in that role since September 2021.

In comes Charles Denike.

“I think he understands that Charles is someone that’s going to command respect and he’s going to have his process and he wanted to make sure that relationship got off on the right foot, and he’s been doing his part,” Hamlin explained.

The veteran driver and host of the Actions Detrimental podcast took it a step further even. In the entire offseason of moves, the move he’s most excited about? Charles Denike crew chiefing for Bubba Wallace.

“At 23XI we’re most excited about Charles Denike,” Hamlin explained. “When he came in for his interview, we had contact and he’s like, ‘Do you remember me?’ I was like, ‘Man, you look familiar.’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, our teams got in a fight a couple times in late models. I was the crew chief for Brandon Butler‘ who was the guy I used to race late models against. I was like, ‘That’s where I know you. That’s where I know you.’

“I was singing his praises all weekend, but we believe we found a rockstar in Charles. Glad we found him. Dave Rogers did a great job recruiting him from the Truck Series. He was with the 19 truck. I think he’s going to be a game-changer for 23XI and Bubba Wallace. I think that those two could really do something special this year.”

Sometimes all you need is some fresh blood and a new perspective. Bubba Wallace has had periods where he’s quite competitive at the top level, but consistency has been hard to come by.

Wallace’s last win in the Cup Series came back in 2022 at the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas.

Denike has a chance to change that.

“He’s coming in fresh,” Hamlin said. “He was with a Chevy team. He had a truck team going to now a Toyota Cup team. So literally it couldn’t be a bigger transition for him. But I mean from what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard he’s doing a fantastic job.”

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