NASCAR has fined racer Bubba Wallace $50,000 for intentionally crashing his car into opponent Alex Bowman’s car during Sunday’s Chicago street race.
During the cool-down lap, Wallace accelerated hard to the left, causing Bowman’s car to blast off and bounce into the wall.
Bubba Wallace was fined $50,000 for a post-race incident with Alex Bowman. pic.twitter.com/C9GP93C4zC
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 10, 2024
The incident arose from an earlier argument between Bowman and Wallace, which led to Bowman becoming distracted and crashing into Wallace’s car.
But NASCAR officials did not believe the incident justified Wallace’s retaliation.
The umpire cited Wallace for two violations of rules 4.4.B and 4.4.D.
Rule 4.4.B prohibits drivers from “intentionally damaging another vehicle,” “wrecking or spinning another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is subsequently removed from competition,” and “any action deemed to be prejudicial to the safety of other drivers.” Rule 4.4.D prohibits conduct that is “detrimental to stock car racing or NASCAR.”
Still, Bowman said he wasn’t upset at all about his initial collision with Wallace, who later fought back on the track.
“I’d be angry, too,” Bowman said. Said According to NBC Sports, he ruined his race on Sunday: “I ruined his day. The restart was chaotic. I made all kinds of bad decisions. I was fighting to get the wiper switch working and it just didn’t work. I was too focused on that and I missed the corner.”
“I locked up all four tires and it just went straight into him. I messed up and it ruined his day,” Bowman continued.
“I’m pretty hard on myself when I make mistakes like this and I’ve been feeling embarrassed ever since it happened. During the rain delay, I was just sitting there feeling embarrassed and angry at myself,” he said. “He’s right to be angry.”
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