(AP) – NASCAR suspended Bubba Wallace for this weekend’s race at Miami-Homestead on Tuesday after revealing that he spun reigning champion Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a “dangerous act” of retaliation before confronting him later.
Wallace had a match with Larson and contact with a NASCAR official after the accident and the series of cars on the series classified the offense as conduct. Steve O’Donnell, executive in charge of competition and racing operations, said the penalties were for what happened on the track, not for the altercation moments later.
“When we look at how that incident happened, in our minds, (it was) a really dangerous act that we thought was intentional and put other competitors in danger,” O’Donnell said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Still, the suspension for this Sunday’s race at South Florida is a rare step: Wallace is the first Cup Series driver to be suspended for an on-track incident since Matt Kenseth was parked for two races in 2015 for an incident at Martinsville.
The 23XI team did not immediately announce a replacement driver for the Homestead race, although John Hunter Nemechek was a possibility.
Like Larson, Wallace had already been eliminated from the championship chase when the two collided during the 94th lap of Sunday’s race. Larson attempted a three-wide pass and Kevin Harvick in the middle fell out of the pile. Larson was sliding up the track toward Wallace, who didn’t get up to give Larson room. Larson then pushed Wallace’s Toyota into a wall.
Wallace led 29 laps in a car he believed could win and responded by following Larson’s car down to the apron, where he appeared to intentionally hook him in the back corner in retaliation. That put Larson in the path of Christopher Bell, a title contender who is part of Toyota with Wallace.
The crash ended Bell’s run and dropped him to last place in the eight-driver playoff standings.
Meanwhile, Wallace climbed out of his car and started walking down the path toward Larson. Wallace yelled before reaching Larson and immediately began pushing the smaller driver.
Larson tried to turn away from him and put his hands up several times to block Wallace’s punches, but Wallace landed more shots before NASCAR security separated the two.
Wallace apologized Monday night “for my actions” in a social media post titled “Reflection”. He specifically apologized to NASCAR and its fans, but also to Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota for “putting them in a playoff situation they don’t deserve.”
His post didn’t take down Larson — Wallace claimed his steering wheel broke when he hit the wall — or apologize to the other driver.
“I compete with tremendous passion, and with passion sometimes comes frustration,” Wallace wrote. “On reflection, I should have done a better job of representing our partners and the team’s core values by letting my frustrations follow me outside the car. You live and learn, and I intend to learn from this.”
Wallace, the only black driver at NASCAR’s highest level, has shown clear improvement this season under close scrutiny. The incident was harshly criticized by some of his fellow drivers, who were looking for safety improvements to NASCAR’s new Next Gen car after recent injuries.
Joey Logano, the winner of Sunday’s race and the first driver to enter the championship-deciding finale, said Wallace’s “retaliation is not right.”
“If he (Larson) turned infield, maybe it’s a little bit better,” Logano said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “But hooking someone from the back right is not right. I don’t think anyone realizes how bad it could have been. It could have been the end of Kyle Larson’s career. For me, it was at stake. Or his life.”
Logano said Larson was actually lucky it ricocheted into Bell and not directly into the wall.
“(Larson) might have hit that thing sideways. And then it’s game over. There is no place for that. You can’t do that,” Logano said. “I don’t like using cars as weapons. If you’re that mad, just get out and fight him.”
NASCAR also announced that Kyle Busch’s crew chief, Ben Beshore, along with two pit crew members have been suspended for the next four races after a wheel fell off during the Las Vegas race.
NASCAR suspended Bubba Wallace for this weekend’s race at Miami-Homestead on Tuesday after making the discovery he spun reigning champion Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a “dangerous act” of retaliation before confronting him later.
Wallace had a run-in with Larson and contact with a NASCAR official after the crash, and the car series classified the infraction as conduct. Steve O’Donnell, executive in charge of competition and racing operations, said the penalties were for what happened on the track, not for the altercation moments later.
“When we look at how that incident happened, in our minds, (it was) a really dangerous act that we thought was intentional and put other competitors in danger,” O’Donnell said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Still, the suspension for this Sunday’s race at South Florida is a rare step: Wallace is the first Cup Series driver to be suspended for an on-track incident since Matt Kenseth was parked for two races in 2015 for an incident at Martinsville.
The 23XI team did not immediately announce a replacement driver for the Homestead race, although John Hunter Nemechek was a possibility.
Like Larson, Wallace had already been eliminated from the championship chase when the two collided during the 94th lap of Sunday’s race. Larson attempted a three-wide pass and Kevin Harvick in the middle fell out of the pile. Larson was sliding up the track toward Wallace, who didn’t get up to give Larson room. Larson then pushed Wallace’s Toyota into a wall.
Wallace led 29 laps in a car he believed could win and responded by following Larson’s car down to the apron, where he appeared to intentionally hook him in the back corner in retaliation. That put Larson in the path of Christopher Bell, a title contender who is part of Toyota with Wallace.
The crash ended Bell’s run and dropped him to last place in the eight-driver playoff standings.
Meanwhile, Wallace climbed out of his car and started walking down the path toward Larson. Wallace yelled before reaching Larson and immediately began pushing the smaller driver.
Larson tried to turn away from him and put his hands up several times to block Wallace’s punches, but Wallace landed more shots before NASCAR security separated the two.
Wallace apologized Monday night “for my actions” in a social media post titled “Reflection”. He specifically apologized to NASCAR and its fans, but also to Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota for “putting them in a playoff situation they don’t deserve.”
His post didn’t take down Larson — Wallace claimed his steering wheel broke when he hit the wall — or apologize to the other driver.
“I compete with tremendous passion, and with passion sometimes comes frustration,” Wallace wrote. “On reflection, I should have better represented our partners and the team’s core values by letting my frustrations follow me outside the car. You live and learn, and I intend to learn from this.”
Wallace, the only black driver at NASCAR’s highest level, has shown clear improvement this season under close scrutiny. The incident was harshly criticized by some of his fellow drivers, who were looking for safety improvements to NASCAR’s new Next Gen car after recent injuries.
Joey Logano, the winner of Sunday’s race and the first driver to enter the championship-deciding finale, said Wallace’s “retaliation is not right.”
“If he (Larson) turned infield, maybe it’s a little bit better,” Logano said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “But hooking someone from the back right is not right. I don’t think anyone realizes how bad it could have been. It could have been the end of Kyle Larson’s career. For me, it was at stake. Or his life.”
Logano said Larson was actually lucky it ricocheted into Bell and not directly into the wall.
“(Larson) might have hit that thing sideways. And then it’s game over. There is no place for that. You can’t do that,” Logano said. “I don’t like using cars as weapons. If you’re that mad, just get out and fight him.”
NASCAR also announced that Kyle Busch’s crew chief, Ben Beshore, along with two pit crew members, have been suspended for the next four races after a wheel fell off during the Las Vegas race.
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