During a recent media session, 23XI Racing’s No. 23 driver Bubba Wallace spoke about the penalty he received for slamming his door on Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman during the cool-down lap. He also explained how Kevin Harvick’s advice influenced his approach to the punishment.
Wallace, who had been struggling to qualify for the playoffs, started the race sixth at Chicago and was hoping to move up the order. During a restart on lap 25, Alex Bowman made contact with Wallace while trying to wipe his windshield, sending him flying into the wall. Bowman went on to win the Chicago street race. On the cool-down lap, a frustrated Wallace was seen slamming the door of Bowman’s #48 Chevrolet, ostensibly in retaliation for the earlier incident.
NASCAR fined Wallace $50,000 for violating Sections 4.4.B and D of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct in connection with the Chicago incident. Wallace decided not to appeal the ruling. After the $50,000 fine was announced, Wallace visited Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he encountered Kevin Harvick, who had come to the summer shootout with his son, Kieran. Bob Pockrass shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) in which Wallace recounted their conversation. Wallace spoke about insights he gained from his conversation with Harvick. He said:
“I guess you could say I got media training from Kevin Harvick. So I was at the track with him and Kieran in the Shootout race, the Legend Cars. He was like, ‘Are you ready?’ I said, ‘Are you ready to qualify?’ And I said, ‘No, I’m not. I just got fined.’ He told me to show up with a smile and accept it. “I might not agree with this discipline, but I’m smiling about it. It also taught me a lot of important things. “Just show up and be my fun-loving self this week,” Wallace added. Prior to the Cup race at Pocono, Wallace was 15th in the drivers’ standings. Wallace has not yet qualified for the playoffs, so he’s hoping to lead his No. 23 Toyota Camry XSE to a victory at the Great American Getaway 400.
“Feel some type of entitlement” – Bubba Wallace reflects on the incident that led to his $50,000 penalty.
Bubba Wallace made headlines after his door-slamming incident with Alex Bowman. NASCAR fined Wallace $50,000, which Bowman also disagreed with. The No. 23 driver said the penalty was one of the best things that ever happened to him.
He also talked about how Chicago was one of the most successful street races until the initial incident. In the same interview above, Wallace shared his thoughts on his actions during the cool-down lap. “When you have everything taken away from you, I feel like it’s okay to let your frustrations out. Was it bad timing? Of course, 100 percent. His (Bowman’s) net was down, his seat belt wasn’t buckled. It wasn’t an ideal situation,” he said.
“I’m a passionate guy, so I let my frustration get the better of me,” Wallace added. Alex Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, also voiced his opposition to NASCAR’s penalty against Bubba Wallace, saying it was disappointing.
