“He’s gonna hurt someone”: Fans react as Bubba Wallace hits Alex Bowman on cooldown lap at Chicago

The NASCAR fanbase has slammed Bubba Wallace after he deliberately rammed into rival Alex Bowman during the cooldown lap at the Chicago Street Course. Shortly after the Hendrick Motorsports driver sealed his maiden Cup Series win this season, the 23XI Racing driver's post-race collision garnered the spotlight.

The 2.2-mile road course witnessed a close battle for the lead among the drivers and the wet track added to the difficulty posed by the narrow street circuit. Shane van Gisbergen entered as the defending winner but succumbed to an early exit on Lap 25. Shortly after the New Zealander secured the Stage 1 win, Stewart-Haas Racing's Chase Briscoe wrecked with the former at turn 6.

Nonetheless, the race progressed, with Joey Hand emerging as the second-stage winner. Amid all the chaos, Alex Bowman kept his #48 Chevy among the contenders, finishing sixth in Stage 1 and climbing to second place in Stage 2.

Before getting his hands on the race win, Bowman had to brave the battle against Tyler Reddick on the final lap. But as the #45 Toyota went wide and hit the wall, the HMS driver extracted a three-second lead and comfortably led his car to the checkered flag.

During the cooldown lap, however, Bubba Wallace intentionally wrecked Alex Bowman's right front as retaliation for a spin on Lap 25.

Here is the video of the cooldown lap crash (via NASCAR on NBC on X).

Seeing the collision during the cooldown procedure when Bowman's window net was down and the seatbelt was apparently off, the fanbase jibed at Bubba Wallace.

"Bubba once again proving he can’t be trusted with a car. He’s gonna hurt someone," one fan wrote.

"Just adds to the reasons people don’t like Wallace," another fan commented.

"Bubba Wallace can't control his anger. I am dam tired of Bubba Wallace being a menace on track. Bubba Wallace shouldn't be hitting Alex Bowman's into the wall with his car," one fan added.

Few fans opined on the notion of awarding a penalty to the 23XI Racing driver for his move over Bowman.

"And he sure as heck better get a fine and penalty for that," one fan commented.

"That'll be a fine and a penalty for 23...real smart bro!" another fan wrote.

"Hope it was worth a penalty," one fan opined.

"I've to apologize again to the 23 guys"- Alex Bowman "embarrassed" for spinning out Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace kicked off his Grant Park 165 run from sixth place and finished seventh in Stage 1. However, misery knocked on his door during the second stage.

While the pack closely fought through the turns, the rain added to the challenge on Lap 25. Alex Bowman tried to get his windshield wiper to work which diverted his focus momentarily. As a result, the HMS driver missed the corner and spun out Bubba Wallace's #23 Toyota, resulting in a 35th-place finish in Stage 2.

After the collision, Wallace geared up and carved his way back through the field. Though the 23XI Racing driver couldn't place himself among the top 10 runners, he gained 22 track positions during the final stage and finished 13th.

After snapping his 80-race winless streak, Alex Bowman apologized to the 23 team for ruining their day.

"I apologize again to the 23 guys, just messed up. Trying to get my windshield wiper on, missed the corner, and ruined their day. So, I hate that, I'm still embarrassed about it," Bowman said via NASCAR.

Alex Bowman has secured his spot in the playoffs with his Chicago Street Race triumph while Wallace still lingers below the cutline.