The Richmond race followed quite a controversy.

First, Austin Dillon took the victory after trampling race leader Joey Logano and his Toyota rival Denny Hamlin.

Then, 3 days later, NASCAR brought everything to justice, let Dillon keep the win, but stripped him of his playoff chance, for which he made all the mess. This was, however, not the first case of retaliation on track as Bubba Wallace has a history of retaliation as well.

Be it the Alex Bowman in Chicago or the 2022 Las Vegas race, after which he was suspended. Now it looks like he has been trying to reflect. In a recent press conference, Wallace was asked if a similar suspension was warranted in Dillon’s case, and here’s what he said.

Is Wallace drawing contrast or playing it safe with his response?

After the Richmond race, NASCAR penalized everyone who displayed violent behavior on track. Other than Dillon, his spotter, Brandon Benesch, was also suspended for the rest of the regular season, as he was heard asking Dillon to wreck Logano after losing the lead. Logano too was penalized with a $50,000 fine for displaying aggression on the pit lane, in front of the Logano faction.

These instances offered NASCAR an opportunity to set a precedence and let drivers know where to set the line. However, was this much enough, or should NASCAR have been more strict by issuing him a suspension, as was done with Chase Elliott and Bubba Wallace in the past?

NASCAR swiftly handed Chase Elliott a one-race suspension after determining he intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin during the 2023 Coca-Cola 600. Just a day after the incident, where Elliott turned Hamlin into the wall, the decision was made.

Similarly, Bubba Wallace received a one-race suspension in the 2022 Las Vegas race after retaliating against Kyle Larson. Wallace, leading at the time, was sent into the wall by Larson’s aggressive three-wide pass. In response, Wallace spun Larson, triggering a multi-car wreck that collected playoff driver Christopher Bell and led to a heated post-race confrontation. In all three cases, the common factor is deliberate retaliation. Yet there is no uniformity in penalizing if deliberate retaliation amounts to suspension. So why shouldn’t Dillon get it?

Bubba Wallace, having faced the brunt of NASCAR, thought Austin Dillon got what he deserved, as the penalties issued were equivalent to a suspension. In a recent pre-race media interaction ahead of the Michigan Cup Race, Bob Pockrass asked Bubba Wallace about his take on the Richmond controversy, especially linking it to Wallace’s suspension in the past, to which he said, “So this one (Dillon’s case) was different in the same category as retaliation so um I think you know not being a playoff eligible win, we go through the points and the money stuff it’s somewhat Nets out the same kinda.”

Does changing penalties, case per case, seem fair? Comparisons are bound to be made with old cases, as is the norm. After the Dillon crash, footage of Logano crashing drivers made rounds, many calling him a hypocrite. But Bubba Wallace recently came to the rescue and talked about the line that cannot be crossed.

Bubba Wallace talks about the line

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Further in the press conference, Wallace talked about how drivers should race hard but be within their limits. Reiterating this, he said, “We always say will you wreck your mother to win of course you know yeah yeah. No! you wouldn’t, I mean I wouldn’t. You do everything in your power under the respectful line to win the race” Some videos are circulating on the internet where Logano has raced hard, many calling. Where is the line there? Bubba clarified the difference between racing hard and not giving the other person a chance to win.

He said, “Now people want to relate Logano and Martin Truex Jr at Martinsville the same as what happened at Richmond who are these people like he moved him out of the way knocked him up the groove and they drag race to the line yeah he may have plowed him but he didn’t spin him out and wreck him and didn’t give him a chance to finish.”

Recently even NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck spoke of the same thing, as he wrote on X, “A lot of you keep tagging me in this. Friends, I don’t know how to politely say this…but if you think the incidents in this video (Logano wrecking others) are the same as what happened on Sunday night(Richmond race), you might not know racing as well as you think you do.”

The next stop for NASCAR is Michigan. The 23XI driver is eyeing a win as he starts on P5. Austin Dillon is not far behind on P10. He should watch out for Bubba Wallace, who has lightly warned him as he said, “At the end of the day it’s a self-policing field and so if the officials don’t take care of you we know how to take care of you.” Do you think Wallace will bag a playoff spot in the Michigan race? Let us know in the comments below.