Bubba Wallace's spotter Freddie Kraft called out NASCAR's 'questionable' ruling at the Darlington Raceway that 'changed the entire race' at the 'Too Tough To Tame' track. The disappointment stemmed from the officials' decision to issue caution four laps after Brad Keselowski spun following the withdrawal of his rear wheel nut.
The RFK Racing driver was fresh off the pit road but a loose nut on Lap 135 sent the #6 Ford Mustang spinning off Turn 4, nearly ending the 2012 Cup Series champion's day. Keselowski masterfully saved his NextGen package from a big blow, successfully entering the pitlane three laps later.
NASCAR didn't raise the caution, and according to Tommy Baldwin, the officials did so because they wanted to observe whether the track was fit for racing. However, a lap after Keselowski pitted, the caution was raised as Ford's nut lay against the inside wall on the restart zone, where drivers barely steer through according to Bubba Wallace's spotter.
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On the flip side, drivers who pitted under the green flag cycle suffered a setback as NASCAR's wave-around policy meant they lost all track positions gained during the pitstop. Thus, Kraft was vocal about NASCAR's ruling, slamming the officials for making the call for 'no f**king reason.'
"There were plenty of questionable cautions in the race...the piece of debris that I saw them pick up was on the Cook Out sign against the inside wall on the restart zone. Nobody's running the f**king inside wall at Darlington...nobody was ever going to get to it, they could've left it there all day long if they wanted to," Kraft said via Door Bumper Clear (32:44).
"They threw the yellow for that wheel nut that was nowhere near the racing surface...we don't know what's a caution anymore, I thought for sure the yellow was coming out...(Keselowski) was limping around at the bottom of the racetrack with right rear flat and no yellow...he gets on the pit road and then two laps later the yellow comes out for nothing, literally nothing...and that changed the entire race for no f**king reason," he added (34:09).
While Kraft expressed resentment over the call, Wallace benefitted from that decision to regain his track position during the wave around.
Bubba Wallace got caught on the receiving end of Kyle Larson's 'embarrassing' Darlington move
With two consecutive podium finishes in Homestead-Miami and Martinsville, Bubba Wallace showed signs of producing another dominant finish in the Goodyear 400 hosted by the Darlington Raceway. The 23XI Racing driver stood fifth fastest in the qualifying and was primed for a top-5 until the end of Stage 1, finishing second.
The Alabama native lost several track positions in the second stage and tried to reclaim the form before the checkered flag was dropped. On the other hand, Kyle Larson, who was more than 160 laps down from an early race wreck, eyed to finish the race. However, as Tyler Reddick bounced off the outside wall on Lap 290 Larson checked up in the middle of the race, leading to a run-in by Bubba Wallace.
The crash ended Larson's day and dropped Wallace to a P21 finish.
“I was checking up, so that's embarrassing,” Larson admitted via Kyle Dalton.
Ranked eighth, Bubba Wallace is above the playoff elimination line, but a triumph could guarantee his spot in the title fight.
