NASCAR officials said they will be talking to Bubba Wallace after an incident he had with fellow driver Alex Bowman. The trouble began after the first lap at the Rovel 400, when Bowman made contact with Wallace.
Bowman accepted responsibility for the contact, but Wallace was hot. Bowman said Wallace made obscene gestures at him.
“That was just a mistake,†Bowman said after the race. “I got flipped off for every single straightaway on the entire race track for three laps. I got flipped off by him for like three or four laps in a row at Richmond, so I’m just over it.â€
It didn’t end there. On Lap 43 Bowman again crashed into Wallace, this time knocking him out of the race. Bowman justified his tactics after the race.
“I’ve got to stand up for myself at some point,†Bowman said. “Probably wouldn’t have gotten wrecked if he had his finger back in the car. I’d be mad too, but he put himself in that spot.â€
Wallace Confronts Bowman
Wallace didn’t see it that way. After the race he sought out Bowman, who was receiving treatment for overheating. Wallace splashed Bowman with liquid from a water bottle.
“Smooth move of playing the sick card so I couldn’t bust him in his mouth,†Wallace said.
NASCAR’s senior vice president and chief racing development officer, Steve O’Donnell, said he will speak to Wallace over his conduct.
“I would say I will be having a conversation with Bubba Wallace, I think that was really not classy whatsoever,” O’Donnell told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “I understand that drivers have issues with each other during a race, we totally get that, but when a driver is on the ground being attended to by medical personnel, you need to be smarter than that. We’ll have that conversation with Bubba and see how that goes, obviously prior to Dover.”
Busch Calls Playoff “Friggin’ Disasterâ€
Kurt Busch was on the playoff bubble, but got bounced after the Roval 400. He finished 15th, three spots lower than where he needed to be to advance to the Round of 12.
Busch took to Twitter on Monday to assess his playoff run, and he wasn’t feeling charitable.
“It’s been a good racing season, but… these last three races were a friggin’ disaster. We still have seven races left to shore things up and prove we’re so much better than this recent stretch,†Busch wrote.
Other Busch Just as Miserable
Brother Kyle Busch had an even worse time at the Roval 400 than Kurt did, but he had more of a cushion to get to the next round. Kyle is currently first in the Monster Cup Energy Standings, and not even a 37th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway could dislodge him from the top spot.
Busch ended up parking his car after the 100th lap, and settling for a frustrating day. He explained his actions later in a Twitter post.
Because of the damage from the incident in turn 1(with) the flat tire, we had a broken sway bar. Our race was over b4 the red flag came out. We decided to not risk tearing up our car anymore. Others had more on the line. Better to call it a day n move on to Dover for the round of 12.â€
This Weeks Odds, Pick
The next phase of the playoff starts at Dover for the Drydene 400. Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. are the favorites at 4/1. We like Erik Jones at 20/1.
Well, one of those drivers is a real bitch, and his name isn’t Bowman.