NASCAR decided to suspend Bubba Wallace for one race after he appeared to intentionally crash into Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver was attempting a three-wide pass when Kevin Harvick, the middle driver, pulled back. Larson slid up, but Wallace did not give him any room, resulting in Larson’s car sending Wallace into the wall. However, Wallace then chased down the Hendrick Motorsports car and hooked him in the right rear, sending Larson not only into Christopher Bell’s car but also sent the No. 5 fully into the wall.
But, it didn’t end there.
The 23XI Racing driver, then, started shoving the Hendrick Motorsports star after they were out of their vehicles. Larson turned away and tried to block the shoves, and a NASCAR safety official had to step in to deescalate the situation.
The infraction was classified by NASCAR as behavioral. Wallace is now the first Cup Series driver since 2015 to be suspended a race for an on-track debacle, and he will miss Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Wallace did issue an apology on social media Monday night; however, it did not mention the collision with Larson nor an apology directed towards him. He said, in part, “I compete with immense passion, and with passion at times comes frustration. Upon reflecting, I should have represented our partners and core team values better than I did by letting my frustrations follow me outside of the car. You live and learn, and I intend to learn from this.”
In wake of NASCAR’s announcement, 23XI Racing released a statement saying they’re “aligned” with the decision. They added, “Bubba’s actions are not in keeping with the values of our team and partners.” 23XI Racing has spoken with the driver about the incidents, and while him out of Sunday’s race, John Hunter Nemechek will take his place.
