The NASCAR race in Chicago was bittersweet for Alex Bowman. While he was glad he finally locked himself into the playoffs, his celebrations were cut short when a raging Bubba Wallace came in to slam his door during the cool-down lap. But while he went off unscathed, that door-slamming action cost Wallace big time, $50000 to be exact! 

But after the fine was sanctioned, Elliott found himself in the mix of the entire debacle because some thought he too should have paid for his actions on track with Suarez. But Hendrick’s driver himself wasn’t too worried about being fined.

Chase Elliott escapes penalty while Wallace pays the price

NASCAR is yet again under fire for “favoritism”. This time, fans questioned the slap of a hefty fine to Wallace when Chase Elliott, their most popular driver, goes unpunished for his actions, which he did in the same race. Let’s just say that the incidents almost mirrored each other, but one thing that might have saved Chase Elliott was the fact that he didn’t come in more violent.

Chase Elliott and Suarez were squabbling over the 13th place and the HMS driver made contact with him on the last lap, but Suarez retaliated. Then Suarez punted Chase Elliott into a spin. And this led him to fume and hunt down the Mexican driver on the cool-down lap. Not only that, they even had a face-off in the pit lane. Doesn’t it ring the same bell as Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman?

As such, anybody would feel Chase Elliott would be worried about being given a fine by NASCAR. But he didn’t seem worried at all about his actions. He said, “I honestly didn’t really think about it, because we barely rubbed doors. At the very best that was all the contact that we made.”

As for his thoughts on Bubba Wallace’s incident, he said he hadn’t viewed it in great detail, but he views it quite differently from the rest. He actually sided with Bubba Wallace on this and said to Frontstretch, “I don’t really think he should have been fined. I understand. I get it, but man you’re getting in the weeds with some of that stuff. Nobody was hurt and it was unfortunate, I guess, just the circumstances and Alex having won the race and things of that nature. But I didn’t see it to be a huge deal.”

Suarez also sided with Wallace but pinpointed the inconsistency in the fines. He said, “Just because I was paying attention and didn’t get hit, he’s not getting a fine? That’s a little bit tricky. I think that’s a very big penalty to pay $50,000 for hitting somebody. I’m not saying that Chase should have got fined, I don’t think he should have, but it’s a big fine.”

Bubba Wallace is thankful for the $50000 fine by NASCAR!

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With NASCAR fans enraged, many thought that the 23XI driver would actually appeal the fine handed down to him. Instead, he said it, “the best thing that happened to me” 

Although his actions are not justified, his frustrations are understandable. He has not yet made it to the playoffs while his teammate has. And with every race, chances go down even lower. The fact that the driver who he had an altercation with and who made him lose precious spots went on to win the race must have been too much to take, and he retaliated. He admitted that Hendrick’s driver win was like “icing on the cake” and, like, “three or four slaps in the face.” But he now, in hindsight, understands and even apologized. 

He said, “The penalty was probably the best thing that happened to me. I’ve been miserable for years walking around with a persona that I’m not proud of, and I need to apologize to a lot of people, especially that are close to me. [I’ve been] frustrated and trying way too hard and not focused on the right things.”

But Bubba Wallace wasn’t always like this—he always was deemed as a hot-headed person. But seems like he got training from the best! He said, “​​I let my frustration get the best of me, but I will say, I got my media training from Kevin Harvick.”

Turns out Wallace was at Charlotte Motor Speedway to run a Legend Car race when he was informed of the fine. And Harvick was present there with his son. And lucky for Bubba, because he got to hear a wise voice of advice from the retired driver. The first piece of advice he gave was to accept the fine graciously and not just that but also show up with a smile in the next race. Harvick, who himself has faced his share of controversies and suspensions, understands the pressure of the spotlight.

And then he asked Bubba to “be himself” and that to him was one of the crucial things he told him. Bubba said, “I think that has been one of the most important things told to me — that people don’t see who I am on Sundays, and that broke me. I always preach about being the same person on and off the racetrack, and it’s a pressure cooker being at the Cup level, and the last four years I’ve been miserable just trying to walk around like everything is OK.”

With Pocono on the horizon, a strong performance would not only reestablish his edge and get him into the playoffs but also demonstrate that he can rise above the controversies and focus on what he does best—winning races.