3 NASCAR drivers who lost their cool in Las Vegas, ft. Bubba Wallace

Las Vegas Motor Speedway has established itself as one of NASCAR’s premier venues since its opening in 1996. Known for its 1.5-mile tri-oval track with 20-degree banking, the speedway hosts major events like the Pennzoil 400 and South Point 400.

Las Vegas is not just a place of triumph for drivers but a hotbed for driver tensions and dramatic confrontations. Here are three drivers who lost their cool on the famous Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

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Bubba Wallace lost his cool on Kyle Larson

During the 2022 South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson got into an on-track incident that escalated into a physical altercation between the two rival team drivers. The confrontation between the two began when Larson attempted a three-wide pass and forced Wallace into a wall on lap 95. Wallace’s car rebounded and struck Larson’s car, causing both drivers to crash.

Wallace immediately exited the car and walked to Larson. Wallace started shoving Larson, relentlessly but the latter avoided engaging in the fight.

Kyle Larson to ESPN.com said:

"I obviously made an aggressive move into [turn] three, got in low, got loose and chased it up a bit," Larson said. "He got to my right front, and 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 and he retaliated."

The aftermath of the incident saw Wallace being suspended by NASCAR officials for the next Cup Series race for violating the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct.

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Joey Logano and Kyle Busch get into a fistfight

In the 2017 edition of the race in the Kobalt 400, an incident occurred between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano when Logano’s car made contact with Busch’s, resulting in a late-race wreck. This resulted in a disappointing finish for Busch and ruined his points tally in the standings.

Logano said after the incident:

"Now there wasn't much talking. It's a lot of swinging"

On Jeff Gluck's podcast, 12 Questions, Busch addressed the racing incident:

"There was a moment down the backstretch where Joey and I were side-by-side and we were catching Brad. I was just a little bit enough ahead of Joey where I turned down so I didn’t get stuck behind Brad to where Joey would use Brad as a pick to keep the position on me. I was better than Joey; I had caught him from a straightaway back."

"So I turned down on him a little bit and just barely touched him to make a hole, got the hole and turned into (Turn) 3, and then he just flat-out drives off in there. And I knew he wrecked me. Like I knew — I knew — he drove into me and flat-out wiped me out. On purpose."

The tension boiled over as Busch confronted Logano in the pit lane, where they both got into a physical altercation. Busch punched Logano in the face, which led to a brawl between the two crews as well.