Bubba Wallace issued a $50,000 fine by NASCAR for his post-race caper against Alex Bowman at Chicago

NASCAR fined 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace $50,000 for his aggressive display against Alex Bowman post-race in Chicago. He door-slammed the #48 while he was celebrating his victory, seemingly because of the earlier contact the two made during the race.

As drivers struggled to race the drenched streets of Chicago, the #23 of Wallace saw his chances of finishing within the top 10 fade during the Grant Park 165. Starting the race in P6, he had a good chance to finish within the top 10 and get closer to the playoffs qualification. However, as rain covered the entire street, he had a moment with the #48 Chevrolet of Bowman.

On the exit of turn 2, Alex Bowman pushed Bubba Wallace from the inside line. As a result, the latter first headed towards the tire barrier and then got parked parallelly. While Bowman was able to steer clear and continue the race, Wallace remained blocked which compromised his race and also Daniel Suarez’s, who was stuck behind him. In the end, Wallace finished the race in P13, missing out on a potential top-10 finish.

Understandably, he wasn’t too happy about the incident. As Alex Bowman celebrated his win post-race, Wallace got up right beside him and slammed his car into the #48. Earlier today, NASCAR penalized him a whopping $50,000 for this.

“Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, was fined $50,000 for violating Sections 4.4.B & D: NASCAR Member Code of Conduct during Sunday’s Grant Park 165.” (via NASCAR.com)

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“I ruined his day”: Alex Bowman on colliding with Bubba Wallace during the race

Although the incident seemed rather heated when it happened, Alex Bowman sympathized with Wallace. He explained that the #23 driver had “every right” to be aggressive about it.

Moreover, the Hendrick Motorsports driver explained how it was his fault to lock up the tires and crash into Wallace. He said (as quoted by NBC Sports):

“I’d be mad, too. I ruined his day. The restart was chaotic. I just made every wrong decision that I possibly could. I was fighting with my windshield wiper switch trying to get it working and I couldn’t get it working. I was focused on that, missed the corner. I locked all four tires and just slid right into him. I just messed up and absolutely ruined his day."

“He has every right to be mad,” Bowman added.

As of now, Bubba Wallace is in 17th place in the playoffs standings, 45 points short of the elimination line.