NASCAR President Steve Phelps said that he was disappointed with the way Bubba Wallace retaliated against Kyle Larson in Las Vegas last season.
One of the talking points of the 2022 season was the incident between Wallace and Larson. Wallace seemed to intentionally wreck Larson in the playoffs race. However, the 23XI Racing was not done there and he approached Larson after that and shoved him multiple times.
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The NASCAR President hadn’t weighed in his opinion until now. However, in an interview with The Athletic, he reflected on the incident and why it was disappointing to see.
“I was in a suite with a couple of NBA players that were there at the race and were somewhat novices. So, I described what I thought happened, and they said, “That’s what I saw, too.” It was disappointing. You don’t want to see that. You want drivers to show their emotion, for sure, but on the racetrack going 165 miles per hour is not something that we want to see. Bubba knows that,” Phelps said.
“Typically, if there are incidents on the racetrack, I don’t have those conversations. That’s our competition group’s responsibility. I certainly had a follow-up with Bubba because I care about Bubba, I care about all our race car drivers, so I wanted to make sure he was OK. And I called Kyle Larson as well.”
Wallace received criticism from NASCAR professionals and fans alike for his behavior. Considering that the race is going at a very high speed, it was really a careless move by Wallace. He was suspended for one race but many believed that the punishment was not justified.
Phelps also said that he spoke to both drivers but refused to speak more on it. The situation is long past by now and the president would hope that emotions won’t get the better of the drivers in the way they did for Wallace last season.
Bubba,bubba bubba.. it is not ony you saying this . I DONT LIFT.. Well sometimes you have to lift.. He did squeeze you but never touched . YOU PANICKRD .. There is a time to ride a time to race ..
I still think he needs a suspension for his actions he has not learned a thing so he got a monetary action from his owner it never came out of his bank account he will never miss that money Nascar is afraid to punish him because he’s of color I don’t care what his color is he puts his pants on the same way so step up and do what is right on this
Bubba is a piece of shit!!!!
Absolutely what he did wrong…and as a driver myself I can assure you that the race he had to sit at home and watched someone else drive his car will weigh deeply on him for for the rest of his days….
Bubba Wallace is a Piece of Shit , as another fan has indicated As for me I have spent a fortune going to NASCAR Races all over the USA since 1978 , I am from Canada and totally finished with NASCAR , Thanks to someone like Wallace , Thanks for the great years NASCAR , don’t need someone like Wallace in my life
Bubba getting shut down on this.
But people seem to forget Kyle Larson not once but 3 times did something very similar to Chase Elliott
Lardon didn’t even get a hand slap
Yes Bubba did retaliate but it should be across the board not just one driver getting the blame
Boba, As long he stays in NASCAR he will be handed a free ride no matter what position he comes in.
Had it been the other way around nascar would have banned Larson for being a racist and a danger to other drivers. When wallace gets someone killed they’ll say it was purely a mistake.