Bubba Wallace has been suspended by NASCAR following his altercation with Kyle Larson. The league announced on Tuesday that it has suspended Wallace for one race after he hit Larson at Lap 94 of the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this past Sunday. Following the accident, Wallace began to shove Larson, and that incident — as well as crashing into the 2021 Cup Series Champion — is a violation of NASCAR’s Member Code of Conduct. The suspension means Wallace will miss the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida on Sunday.
After the race, Larson spoke to reporters and said he wasn’t surprised by Wallace’s actions. “It didn’t surprise me,” the Larson said, per Racer.com. “I obviously made an aggressive move into [Turn] 3 and got in low and got loose and chased it up a bit. He got to my right front, and it got him tight and into the wall, and I knew he was going to retaliate. He had a reason to be mad, but his race wasn’t over until he retaliated. It is what it is. Just aggression turned into frustration and [retaliation].”
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On Monday night, Wallace issued an apology to Larson and NASCAR. “I want to apologize for my actions on Sunday following the on-track incident with Kyle Larson and the No. 5 car,” Wallace wrote on Twitter. “My behavior does not align with the core values that are shared by 23XI Racing and our partners, who have played a crucial role in my incredible journey to the top of this great sport.”
Despite missing the playoffs this year, Wallace has had a solid 2022 Cup Series season. He finished second at the Daytona 500 to start the year and he won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas City Speedway in September. His first Cup Series win came at Talladega Superspeedway last year, and it’s a moment he’ll never forget.
“Just everything felt right, Wallace told PopCulture.com in December. “And so there was moments throughout the race though, I was like, this is not what I had envisioned. We were running 25th, but it’s Talladega, you never know what could happen with that last run there. We made a late charge to the front and actually got some help from Kurt [Busch], so it was kind of cool. A little bit of foreshadowing of what we can do with our future.”
