“I’m not justifying it”: Bubba Wallace explains why he door-slammed Alex Bowman at Chicago leading to a $50,000 fine

Bubba Wallace has finally given his take on the hefty $50,000 fine that NASCAR imposed on him for door-slamming Alex Bowman during the cooldown lap of last week's Grant Park 165. According to the 23XI Racing icon, he let his frustration get the best of him.

It all started with Bowman spinning Wallace coming off of turn 2 on lap 25 of the rain-shortened race. Wallace retaliated by dooring Bowman back. For the Alabama native, his run at the Chicago street circuit could have been his best performance on a road course over the last decade.

In his last five starts at road course races, Wallace finished 20th (Sonoma), 15th (COTA), 16th (Charlotte), 12th (Watkins Glen), and 18th (Indy road course). His last top-5 and top-10 performances at road courses came in 2022 at Indy and Charlotte, respectively.

Reflecting on the same, Bubba Wallace said in an interview (via Sportsnaut):

"How many years I’ve been terrible at road courses, so I’ve put my heart and soul into getting better at them, spending time with my team and at the sim and trying to be better. Showing up to Chicago, that was our best road course race ever."

"And to have that wiped out in two corners and then the conditions changed … when that’s all ripped away, you feel some type of entitlement to show your frustration," he added.

Here is a video of how things went down last week between Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman:

Although Wallace did not justify his actions, he reasoned:

"I’m not justifying it all but I’m a passionate guy and I let my frustration get the best of me.”

Bubba Wallace was fighting the Hendrick Motorsports driver for a playoff spot, as the duo were merely a few points apart from one another. However, upon winning the race, Alex Bowman clinched the ninth playoff spot. On the other hand, Bubba Wallace got relegated 45 points behind the provisional cutline.

"Probably the best thing to ever happen to me"- Bubba Wallace on his penalty

Bubba Wallace recently appeared before the media and said he intended to apologize to several people around him, including his PR person Sydnei Fryson. Wallace said (via Sportsnaut):

"The penalty was probably the best thing to ever happen to me. I’ve been miserable for years, walking around with a persona I’m not proud of. I apologize. I need to apologize to a lot of people, especially those who are close to me. Syd, I’ll start with you.”

Wallace felt his actions were just repercussions to people wanting him out of the arena of NASCAR.

"I’m just frustrated, trying way too hard and not focused on the right things," Wallace added. "For the people that wanted me out of the sport for the past 4-5 years, people don’t understand."

Having said that, the Toyota pilot took full responsibility for his actions. He opined that the timing of his payback move wasn't ideal.

"Did I time it wrong? 100 percent,” Wallace told the reporters. "His window net was down, seatbelts were off, not an ideal situation."

A week later, Wallace now prepares for the 21st race of the season at Pocono Raceway. His best run at the "Tricky Triangle" came in 2021 when he started seventh and finished fifth. The 30-year-old speedster looks forward to making his second playoff appearance this year.