Bubba Wallace’s $50,000 fine the first of it’s kind in NASCAR since 2009

Bubba Wallace's antics during the cooldown lap of last Sunday's Cup race at the Chicago road course did not escape NASCAR's radar. The officials have fined the 23XI Racing driver a hefty $50,000. On that note, Seth Eggert, the associate editor at Kickin' The Tires, illuminated an aspect of the penalty unheard of since 2009.

It was the first time NASCAR penalized a post-race, on-track tussle with no additional circumstances since 2009. The last time NASCAR slammed a driver with a $50,000 penalty for a post-race incident was last year when Trackhouse Racing driver, Daniel Suarez, confronted Alex Bowman at the Circuit of The Americas after hitting the latter's car from behind in the pit road. However, that was not an on-track altercation.

According to NASCAR, Bubba Wallace violated sections 4.4.B & D: NASCAR Member Code of Conduct.

Bubba Wallace door-slamming Bowman was a direct reaction to the latter spinning him out earlier in lap 25 during the rain-shortened Grant Park 165, which cost the Toyota pilot several spots and perhaps, even a shot at winning the race and booking a potential playoff berth. On the other hand, the Hendrick Motorsports icon ended up recording the eighth victory of his NASCAR Cup career and the first since March 2022.

Bubba Wallace last won at Kansas Speedway in 2022. The 30-year-old speedster currently sits 17th in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings, 45 points below the provisional cutline. His next race is at Pocono Raceway on July 14.

NASCAR insider explains why Bubba Wallace's payback move was "dumb"

Bubba Wallace entered Sunday's race 16th on points. Needless to say, it was the final playoff spot. Just below him on the NASCAR Cup Series standings was Alex Bowman. However, after Sunday's race, Bowman moved to 11th whereas Wallace is currently 15th. Thankfully, NASCAR charged Wallace money and no playoff points.

Reflecting on how hard it could have been for Wallace to stay in the playoff rumble had NASCAR docked points, his spotter Brett Griffin recently said in an episode of Door Bumper Clear:

“If they give him a points penalty and he’s 75, 85, 95, 100 points behind him, oh man, he’s getting in a must-win territory and not many races left. I think that's where it was dumb on Bubba's part. He wasn't thinking about the big picture..."

"The worst case scenario happened; the guy who wrecked him won the race and a guy who he was ultimately kind of racing in points won the race," Griffin added.

With just six races remaining till NASCAR hits Atlanta Motor Speedway for the round of 16 opener, Wallace is in a position where he either needs to win a race or bag as many points as possible while staying away from mistakes and on-track squabbles.