NASCAR: Why did Bubba Wallace go after Kyle Larson after a crash in Las Vegas

There was definitely some heat on the track this weekend in Las Vegas and it wasn’t from the tires of the cars or their engines.

NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson almost came to blows

NASCAR fans witnessed a contentious moment on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, when Bubba Wallace literally tried to fight with reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson. Following a crash that also affected title contender Christopher Bell, it was clear that Wallace took issue with how it all went down. Indeed, Wallace had led for 29 laps and if we’re honest was probably on the way to victory in the third round of the playoffs. To be clear, Wallace did not qualify for the playoffs and Larson himself was eliminated just last week.

At any rate, the problem occurred when Larson attempted a three-wide pass, at which point Kevn Harvick, who was in the middle of the pack dropped out. Larson then crept up on Wallace, who it must be said refused to give any room to the champion. From there, things went astray. Larson took issue and using his Chevrolet, forced Wallace into the wall. Needless to say, Wallace wasn’t having it and essentially started to hunt down Larson’s car until finally he appeared to intentionally hook him. Larson’s car spun out of control and unfortunately into the aforementioned Bell’s path. Sadly, that brought an end to Bell’s race, which would most certainly have been infuriating after he won last Sunday in Charlotte to clinch an automatic spot in the round of eight.

The Fight: Bubba Wallace was looking to do damage to Kyle Larson

Immediately following the crash, Wallace climbed from his car and started to make his way toward Larson. From his demeanor, it was pretty obvious what was about to happen. Shouting at Larson even before he arrived in front of him, Wallace began to shove the champion. Larson could be seen trying to turn away and, on several occasions, tried to use his hands to prevent Wallace from pushing him, however, it would eventually take one of NASCAR’s safety workers getting between the pair to break it up.

What did Bubba Wallace say about the altercation with Kyle Larson?

Interestingly, Wallace maintained that it was not his intention to wreck Larson, however, both the defending champion and Bell who was involved, held to the view that it was clear retaliation. What happens now is unclear, but given the video footage we all saw; it won’t be a surprise if NASCAR decides to penalize Wallace - they are currently reviewing the entire incident. One way or another, we’ll find out next week.

As for Wallace himself, the 23XI Racing driver maintained his belief that his anger was well justified. “I’m smart enough to know how easily these cars break, so when you get shoved into the fence deliberately like he did trying to force me to lift, the steering was gone,” Wallace said. “Larson wanted to make a three-wide divebomb, but he never cleared me and I don’t lift. ...I know I’m kind of new to running up front, but I don’t lift. I wasn’t even at a spot to lift and he never lifted, either, and now we’re junk. Just [very bad] move of his execution.” Interestingly, Wallace was also asked what he was trying to communicate to Larson by pushing him constantly, to which he replied, “He knows. ...He knows what he did was wrong. He wanted to question what I was doing, and he never cleared me,” Wallace said.

Christopher Bell & and Kyle Larson also weigh in

Where Bell was concerned, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver seemed to put the whole event down to the nature of competition. “Sports,” Wallace said with a shrug. As for Larson, the Toyota driver didn’t seem terribly surprised by Wallace’s hooking move. “I obviously made an aggressive move into [turn] three, got in low, got loose and chased it up a bit,” Larson said. “He got to my right front, and it got him tight and into the wall. 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 he retaliated.”

Larson went on to say, that he thought Wallace’s actions were inappropriate to say the least, in light of recent events involving NASCAR’s new Next Gen car. Larson’s teammate Alex Bowman, as well as Kurt Busch are both out following concussions sustained in separate crashes. In the case of Busch, he’s been out since July. “I think with everything that’s been going on here lately, with head injuries...I don’t think it’s probably the right thing to do,” Larson said. “I’m sure with everything going, he’ll know that he made a mistake in the retaliation part and I’m sure he’ll think twice about that next time.”

Kyle Larson wasn’t surprised by Bubbas Wallace wanting to fight

Interestingly, Larson admitted that he knew things were going to get ugly when he saw Wallace approaching his car. “I saw him walking over, so I figured he would do something,” Larson said. “He had every right to be upset. I would rather him do that [fight] than tear up our cars in a dangerous manner.” Bell on the other hand, lamented the fact that his was a case of ‘wrong place wrong time.’ “We got the short end of the stick. ...It’s disappointing because our performance is capable of racing for the championship, and it doesn’t appear that we’re going to get to,” he said. Ultimately, it was Joey Logano who became the first driver to qualify for NASCAR’s championship finale by using fresh tires, with which he caught Ross Chastain and went on to win Sunday’s race.