Lightning hardly ever strikes twice in the identical spot, however for followers of Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace, the closing laps of the Chicago Road Race felt like a replay from the yr earlier than. As the 2 went toe-to-toe for seventh place, tempers flared, paints traded arms, and fenders bore the brunt of their rivalry as soon as extra. But, Wallace’s group proprietor, Denny Hamlin, selected to not level fingers at Bowman for the result.
Final yr, within the Chicago race, Wallace was turned sideways off Bowman’s nostril within the early laps, ultimately retaliating with a door slam on the cooldown lap that earned him a $50,000 high quality. Bowman took the win that day whereas Wallace salvaged a P13 end. This time round, on Lap 70 of the 75-lap showdown, Bowman nudged the No. 23 exiting Flip 2, sending the 23XI Toyota spinning down DuSable Lake Shore Drive.
Bowman escaped the incident unscathed and crossed the road in eighth, whereas Wallace limped house in twenty eighth, 5 laps adrift, his automobile crippled by a damaged toe hyperlink. So as to add gas to the hearth, the conflict got here throughout Spherical 2 of NASCAR’s in-season match, the place the motive force ending greater superior within the hunt for a $1 million prize, matching the All-Star Race purse. When the mud settled, it was Bowman who punched his ticket ahead whereas Wallace was knocked out of competition.
From Bowman’s perspective, Wallace had bounced him round like a pinball earlier than the spin introduced issues to a head. Backing Bowman’s model of occasions, Hamlin broke it down in blunt phrases on his podcast, Actions Detrimental.
Hamlin mentioned, “They have been simply taking part in graba— with the #48 and ended up getting the unhealthy finish of it. However in case you’re the #48, I imply, I attempted each means I might. I’m wanting, I’m watching the replay, and I’m like, ’48? I simply don’t perceive actually sort of what he did fallacious there.’
“He bought pinched into the wall off of 12. His stumble upon Bubba into (flip) one wasn’t like egregious or something. And I feel it wasn’t even like sq. within the again.”
Hamlin went on to say, “I assumed after I after I checked out it, I imply, I texted him (Wallace) afterward was like, “What occurred?” As a result of I hadn’t seen something. I simply heard Bubba and Bowman bought into it. I used to be like, ‘Oh, nice. What now?’ I simply don’t know what number of choices the #48 actually had. He simply bought pinched within the wall like quite a bit.”
In Hamlin’s eyes, the circumstances spoke volumes. With Bowman on brisker rubber and Wallace working on worn tires, the pace hole made the battle lopsided, and Hamlin hinted that Wallace could have been higher off letting the struggle go slightly than doubling down and paying the value.
After the race, the pair exchanged phrases close to the storage exit in entrance of the group that had front-row seats to the dialogue. Wallace remained tight-lipped with the media, however Bowman didn’t mince phrases. He didn’t outright blame Wallace, however felt Wallace’s aggressive driving had introduced the chaos upon himself.
Denny Hamlin on how Bubba Wallace dealt with the state of affairs
Hamlin noticed no motive to drag Wallace apart for a one-on-one, believing the motive force of the No. 23 Toyota already had a transparent learn on the state of affairs and the results at hand.
With the common season hanging by a thread, Hamlin defined, “No, I feel Bubba understands it. I feel that’s why you noticed him have the response that he did. I feel that’s why he made the feedback that he did. It appeared as if he took accountability for it. He wasn’t clear when he tried to clear himself. So no, I feel he dealt with it high quality.”
Time is working out for Wallace and the 23XI camp, with simply seven races left to punch their ticket into the playoffs. At the moment sticking to thirteenth within the standings with 443 factors, together with three top-fives and 6 top-10s, he’s skating on skinny ice. However with a number of robust outings, his postseason hopes are nonetheless very a lot alive.
