Nascar Driver Bubba Wallace has worked his way into the center of controversy yet again, this time by exiting his vehicle to attack another driver following a race-ending crash on Sunday on lap 95.
Bubba Wallace, the driver of the number 45 car, has been a lightning rod in the sport ever since a scandal broke out where his team claimed that a noose was left in the garage area to threaten the driver.
After an FBI investigation, and an internal investigation by NASCAR, the rope was found to have been placed long before Wallace was assigned to that particular garage and was a rope pull for the garage door.
Moving onto Sunday’s race, Kyle Larson, driver of the number 5 car, made an aggressive move to pass Wallace, whose car was forced to scrape the wall.
From that point forward, Wallace sought out the number 5 car and ended Kyle Larson’s race, by spinning him into the grass.
That wreck ended the race of three drivers, totaling the cars of Larson, Wallace, and Christopher Bell, a third driver who saw his championship hopes decimated by the collision.
Kyle Larson hits Bubba Wallace.
Wallace spins him out, and #NASCARPlayoffs driver Christopher Bell is involved! pic.twitter.com/TlxcEV5T6q
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 16, 2022
Wallace wasn’t finished there. After wrecking Larson and Bell, Wallace exited his vehicle that was still on the infield of the track, and hurried toward Larson, who looked to be a bit dazed after the hit he just took in his vehicle.
Bubba Wallace is NOT HAPPY with Kyle Larson.
Some pushes and shoves after they wreck. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/aaAn0idrJp
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 16, 2022
Wallace then begins angrily shoving the chest of Larson, who did not want to be a part of any physical.
As Larson tried to move away, Wallace continued forward yelling and shoving the much smaller driver.
Immediately after the race, Wallace gave this interview to NBC reporters.
"I don't lift."
Hear from @BubbaWallace after his incident with Kyle Larson. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/XUMPs2sRsf
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 16, 2022
In the interview, Wallace blames the wreck on a lack of steering control that he said was a product of the earlier run-in with Larson.
On Monday, one day after the incident, Wallace took to Twitter with a much different tone.
Reflection. pic.twitter.com/ZpamWzjZJR
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) October 17, 2022
“I want to apologize for my actions on Sunday following the on-track incident with Kyle Larson and the No. 5 car,” wrote Wallace.
“I want to apologize to NASCAR and the fans, along with Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Toyota for putting them in a situation in the Playoffs that they do not deserve,” he added.
NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass has this to say about NASCAR’s response to the incident.
“NASCAR says they are going to look at everything. I think unless they see that Bubba totally didn’t have steering, I think they are going to have to issue a penalty to Bubba,” he said.
Kyle Larson was pulled aside for an interview right after the incident and he seemed to be more understanding of Wallace than many in the NASCAR community.
“I’ve let the emotions get the best of me too,” said a shaken Larson after the incident.
“I know he’s probably still upset but I’m sure with everything going on he’ll know that he made a mistake in the retaliation part and, I’m sure, he’ll think twice about it next time,” Larson concluded.
By: Goose
