Bubba Wallace vs Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Update: Bubba Wallace suspended
On Sunday, NASCAR rolled into Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 1.5-mile hosted the opening race in the round of 8 for the NASCAR Playoffs.
Watch the Bubba Wallace vs Kyle Larson video below.
On lap 95, Wallace was in a battle with Kyle Larson for 5th. Kevin Harvick was also there as they ran three wide for the position off turn four.
Larson ran wide off turn four with Wallace on his outside. No contact was made but Bubba Wallace ran out of room and tagged the outside wall.
Wallace bounced off the wall and into Larson. He then turned hard left and hooked Larson in the right rear. Larson came back across the track and slammed the outside wall.
Both cars were destroyed and parked, unable to move. Each driver climbed from their machines. Playoff driver Christopher Bell was collected in the incident as well.
Larson’s crew jumped on the radio, “If that wasn’t intentional, I don’t know what was. Are you ok?”
Wallace walked down the banking, helmet in hand toward Larson’s machine. When they made eye contact, Wallace put his hands in the air. Larson reacted by pointing, possibly not taking fault for the incident.
Wallace then lunged toward Larson. He shoved the No. 5 driver against his car. Larson tried to walk away as Wallace shoved him several more times.
Wallace then walked across the infield grass en route to the infield. A NASCAR official tapped him on the shoulder several times, telling the driver he needed to go to the ambulance. Wallace then pushed the hands of the official away and continued walking.
Recently, William Byron retaliated on Denny Hamlin following contact. Those actions resulted in a $100,000 fine.
Update: Bubba Wallace suspended
William Byron vs Denny Hamlin (Video)
Bubba Wallace comments on the wreck with Kyle Larson
Wallace is the driver of No. 45 for 23XI Racing.
“Clint’s [Larson’s crew chief] smart enough to know how easily these cars break. So, when you get shoved into the fence, deliberately like he did, trying to force me to lift, the steering was gone. He just so happened to be there,” Bubba Wallace stated to NBC, hinting it wasn’t retaliation.
“Hate it for our team. Super fast car. Had no short run speed as we were falling there. Larson wanted to make a three wide dive bomb, never cleared me.”
“I don’t lift, I know I’m kinda new to running up front but I don’t lift. I wasn’t even in a spot to lift and he never did either. Now, we’re junk.”
“So, piss poor move on his execution.”
“What he did was wrong. He wanted to question what I was doing, he never cleared me.”
“Stop fishing,” Wallace responded when asked if it was retaliation.
Christopher Bell was also collected in the incident, picking up heavy damage. Bell is essentually a teammate to Wallace.
“Sports,” Wallace reacted to Bell being collected.
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Kyle Larson comments after the incident with Wallace
Larson is the driver of the No. 5 for Hendrick Motorsports.
“It didn’t surprise me,” Larson said of the reaction from Wallace following the incident.
“I obviously made an aggressive move into three. Got in low, got loose and chased it up a bit. Yeah, he got to my right front, it got him tight and into the wall.”
“I knew he was going to retaliate. He had a reason to be mad. But, his race wasn’t over, until he retaliated.”
“It is what it is. Just aggression, turned into frustration. He retaliated.”
“I think with everything that’s been going on here lately, with head injuries and all that, fractured ligaments, I don’t think it’s probably the right thing to do. But hey, we’ve all done it. Not all of us, but I have. I’ve let emotions get the best of me.”
“I know he’s probably still upset. But, with everything going on I’m sure he’ll know that he made a mistake in the retaliation part and he’ll think twice about it next time.”
Larson concluded, “I seen him walking over, so I figured he would do something. He had every right to be upset. But, I’d rather him do that than tear up our cars in a dangerous matter.”
Larson is the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion. However, last week he was knocked out of the 2022 playoffs.
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Christopher Bell comments after the crash
Bell is the driver of the No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing. The team is affiliated with 23XI Racing.
“Bubba got ran into the wall,” Bell stated.
he added, “Obviously, retaliation from his side. We got the short end of the stick.”
Bell will likely need a win in one of the next two races in order to advance into the championship round. But, he feels good about the next two tracks on the schedule, “We’ll see if we can pull a rabbit out of the that.”
Bell and Wallace will fly home on the same plane. Will that be awkward?
Bell responded, “Not for me. He’s running his own race. He certainly didn’t do anything to intentionally put us in jeopardy. Nobody would accuse him of that. So it’ll be a fine flight.”
Update: Bubba Wallace suspended
Las Vegas Race Results: October 16, 2022 (NASCAR Cup Series)
Bubba Wallace vs Kyle Larson
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
October 16, 2022
Links
Kyle Larson | Bubba Wallace | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | NASCAR
