While Bubba Wallace’s incident with Alex Bowman took the headlines after Grant Park 165, another incident occurred at the Chicago Street Course that has gone relatively unnoticed. On the final lap of the race, Chase Elliott, who was well on his way to finish in the top 15 once again was driven into by Daniel Suarez on the final turn of the 2.2-mile layout, sending him into a spin. As a result, Elliott finished 21st, while Suarez ended up 11th.

What followed was a near-identical cool-down lap incident between the pair. Yet, fans focused on Bubba Wallace’s actions. The hypocrisy didn’t pass by Wallace’s spotter Freddie Kraft, who refused to defend the 23XI Racing driver as well.

Freddie Kraft approaches the Bowman-Wallace incident pragmatically

Understandably upset by Daniel Suarez’s last lap antics, Chase Elliott was seen scurrying towards the 32-year-old’s No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro on the cool-down lap and driving hard into his passenger door between Turns 5 and 6. The incident was nearly identical to what Bubba Wallace did to Alex Bowman, the retaliatory measure coming after the Hendrick Motorsports driver forced Wallace to spin out on Lap 25.

Speaking about the incident, Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, agreed with Alex Bowman’s views. He firmly put forth that the incident should not warrant a penalty. However, hold up, he was not defending his own driver. He fully understood the dangers of such antics, as he said, “Listen. I agree with Alex Bowman. Shouldn’t be a penalty. Listen, it’s dumb. Shouldn’t happen. You cannot run into people under caution. Cannot run into people under yellow after the race is over, cool-down laps especially. Because people are unbuckling”.

Yet, considering the frequency of such incidents, Kraft just could not be convinced that a penalty was deserved by the #23 driver. Well aware that fans’ voices drive NASCAR decisions considerably, he expressed his bafflement at a similar incident that didn’t draw any boos or jeers. Freddie Kraft hence called out fans for their double standards on the ‘Door Bumper Clear’ podcast, saying, “Unfortunately for the people that would like to throw Bubba out of the sport forever and ever for this, it happens every week. If it’s not every week, it’s damn near every week. It happened twice yesterday. One of them for some reason didn’t make it on television quite as much as the other one, I don’t know why. There’s video out there of it now. Chase Elliott drives up and doors Daniel Suarez after the yellow flag. I didn’t see anybody cry for his immediate expulsion from the sport.”

After the race, NBC Sports covered Bowman’s cool-down lap and the incident with Wallace but paid little to no attention to the in-race contact between Suarez and Elliott, or what happened after the race. While both incidents deserved coverage, failure to cover one of them meant fans didn’t know a final lap incident between Elliott and Suarez took place at all, which is why the focus remained on criticizing Bubba Wallace for door-slamming Bowman.

Also, Alex Bowman took responsibility for ruining Bubba Wallace’s race and also urged NASCAR to not penalize the 23XI Racing driver for the cool-down incident. Expressing sympathy for Wallace’s frustrations, Bowman said he was “embarrassed” after the 23XI Racing driver was relegated to 13th place at the end, despite starting the race sixth. However, NASCAR may have an entirely different view when it comes to awarding a penalty.

Could Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott be given a penalty?

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After the cool-down lap, Chase Elliott was seen paying Daniel Suarez a visit in his pit stall, with the pair exchanging their views about the incident. Just like Bowman, the Trackhouse Racing driver took responsibility for the initial incident for damaging Elliott’s top-20 streak. Speaking to Frontstretch, Daniel Suarez said, “We got together right there in the last couple of corners. He pushed me a little bit. And then I pushed him without my intention and ended up hitting him pretty good in the last corner. My bad on that.”

Despite some fans calling for Bubba Wallace’s suspension on social media, it’s unlikely for NASCAR to take any action in this direction. Earlier this year, Martin Truex Jr slammed Kyle Larson’s door at Richmond, before ramming his No. 19 Toyota Camry into the back of his teammate Denny Hamlin’s car multiple times. The 44-year-old veteran was not penalized for the incident. However, Carson Hocevar was docked 25 points and fined $50,000 for causing Harrison Burton to spin under caution at Nashville. In Wallace’s favor, it needs to be noted that Hocevar also has a history of on-track incidents, which played against him.

Despite the fact that NASCAR is unlikely to penalize Bubba Wallace or Chase Elliott for door-slamming their colleagues in the cool-down lap, it’s important that the sanctioning body sets clear guidelines regarding post-race incidents to avoid speculation and uncertainty in the future. By doing so, not only will such “dumb” moves be avoided, but it will also help NASCAR escalate the punishments to possible points deductions and suspensions for repeat offenders.

Do you think Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott deserve a penalty? Let us know in the comments!