Bubba Wallace has been fined by NASCAR 50 thousand dollars after he doored race winner Alex Bowman on the cool-down lap. On lap 25 of 75 Bowman locked the tries up and slid into Wallace. However, this isn’t the first time Wallace has been involved with altercations and antics that have rubbed NASCAR Nation the wrong way. Wallace had been suspended in the past for intentionally wrecking Kyle Larson in Las Vegas in 2022, He was Fined $50 K and docked 50 points for intentionally bringing out a caution at Texas in 2019.
NASCAR Checkered Precedent
NASCAR has been all over the place with penalties like these. In this very race, on this very cooldown lap, a video emerged that appeared to show NASCAR’s Most popular driver Chase Elliott running down Daniel Suarez and dooring him similar to Wallace and Bowman. Elliott at the time of writing has not seen any punishment from NASCAR for the incident. Elliott was suspended in 2020 for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin.
NASCAR has failed to set the boundaries on what is allowed and not. Kyle Busch intentionally wrecks Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the All-Star Race earlier this year, and no penalties to Busch but Stenhouse confronts Busch by the haulers and a fight breaks out and Stenhouse is fined $75k. There is no standard set of what drivers can and can’t which is a bad look for NASCAR.
Racing World Reacts
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Alex Bowman the “Victim” of the event that led to Wallace’s fine came out against any penalties in victory lane talking about how embarrassed he was by the mess up that caused the contact between Wallace and Bowman:
Just messed up, trying to get my windshield wiper on, missed a corner and ruined their day, I hate that. I’m still embarrassed about it.
He has every right to be mad; I’d be mad, too, I tried to call him during the rain delay, and I shot him a text. Nothing I can do to make it better, and I’m sure us winning probably only makes it worse. I just messed up and ruined his day, so I hate that.
Co-owner of Wallace’s car and Driver Denny Hamlin was more understanding towards the fine and said:
NASCAR made probably the only call that they could, NASCAR really reacts to what people say on social media a lot. They do. And so, when this was under a microscope and again, I firmly believe he got fined because it was on TV, and he [Bowman] was the race winner. … They bumped each other, it wasn’t hard, but these things happen on a weekly basis. It just happened to be Alex showing him right there on live TV, here comes Bubba and he punches him right into the wall.
Wallace is trying to turn this into a positive and change his attitude towards the race weekends after advice from 2014 Cup Series Champion Kevin Harvick:
I’ve been miserable for years, walking around with a persona that I’m not proud of, I need to apologize to a lot of people, especially that are close to me.
(Harvick) also told me a lot of powerful things. To show up and be the fun-loving guy that I am throughout the week. I think that’s been one of the most important things told to me that people don’t see who I actually am on Sundays. That broke me because I always preach about being the same person on and off the racetrack.
Was the Fine Justified?
The question that needs to be answered and the simple answer is yes. Unlike NASCAR many fans have been consistent in the reaction and outcry. When the car is used in a retaliatory effort something needs to be done. If Wallace had met with Bowman after the race and a fight broke out the social media outcry for a penalty would not have been as loud.
It is good for NASCAR to have drivers angry with each other. It creates storylines that can span multiple races as fans wait for the potential payoff. Hopefully, when we see drivers angry with each other we see them duke it out in the infield or talk it out and not use the car to retaliate and NASAR lets them settle it off track as the drivers see fit as long as it stays within the realm of reason.
If NASCAR continues the inconsistent penalties it could affect the outcome of a championship turn the sport into a joke and potentially delegitimize a driver who may have earned a win or a championship but will have that astrix next to it. We have to see more consistency in these situations and outline what drivers can or can’t do before something small becomes big.
