Conspiracy Theories Taint Bubba Wallace’s Name Amidst Raging Blame for Boss Denny Hamlin’s Richmond Win

The NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway went pretty smoothly—no big crashes or anything, just a few yellow flags for some minor stuff on the track. But then, there was this moment when Bubba Wallace tangled with Kyle Larson and caused a caution. That mix-up set the stage for Denny Hamlin to win the race, stirring up quite the buzz.

While everyone’s been jawing about Hamlin’s restart move as the hot gossip of the week, that late-game caution thanks to Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson’s scuffle wasn’t far behind in the chatter. The question on everyone’s lips was, Was that caution part of the plan? In the latest “Rubbin’ is Racing” podcast episode, where the hosts dived deep, sharing some pretty keen takes on the whole ordeal, things were tossed.

Was Bubba Wallace’s move a calculated play or just a slip-up?

Races can be a mixed bag of fairness, and sometimes it’s those nail-biting final moments that really tell the tale in NASCAR. Those last few ticks of the clock at Richmond sure got people buzzing. While Martin Truex Jr was on a smooth sail towards what could’ve been his fourth victory at the track in six tries, Hendrick Motorsports star Kyle Larson got a nudge from 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace with just two laps to go. That caution was the game-changer, leading to the pit stop drama that catapulted Hamlin to the front.

Now, there’s this new theory around the fact that Bubba Wallace races for the team, which is co-owned by Denny Hamlin and basketball legend Michael Jordan. Did Wallace throw the race into chaos on purpose to give his boss Hamlin a leg up? On the “Rubbin’ is Racing” podcast, host Large Barstool tossed out, “Wouldn’t we have heard that? like, even if there’s a code word? The lion lays down in winter. We would have known that there’s some kind of morse code going on.” 

Meanwhile, Cabo Wabo Tequila threw out the idea of an unspoken agreement, but Dan DiOrio was quick to question the timing, “This early in the season, like a regular season race for pretty much nothing on the line. Denny already has a win on his belt. They’re gonna do that. Don’t you think they saved that?”

Even Kyle Larson wasn’t buying into the theory that Wallace’s move was anything but a racing incident. Not to mention, if things were totally square, wouldn’t Martin Truex Jr have been the one celebrating a win instead? But then NASCAR’s got this habit of shifting the goalposts. Take Kyle Busch‘s minor scrape with the wall, for instance. That caution flag seemed like overkill, but it made sure it threw a wrench in everyone’s strategy all the same.

Kyle Larson’s not pointing fingers at the #23 driver for the last-minute ruckus

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Despite the on-track drama, Larson brushed off any idea that Wallace’s move was a tactic to give Denny Hamlin, Wallace’s boss, an edge. In fact, Bubba Wallace, himself ended up in 13th after a pit stop snafu. After the dust settled, Wallace and Larson had a chat, and there was no bad blood between them.

When quizzed on whether Wallace might’ve spun him on purpose to boost Hamlin’s chances, Larson was clear-cut in his response, “No, not at all. No, you heard what he said. If he was being intentional, it was to help his race, to get a caution and help his race out. It didn’t play out that way. It just is what it is.”

Read More: Bubba Wallace Insider Apologizes for ‘Fu**ing Up’ Martin Truex Jr’s Richmond Hopes

It makes you wonder, though, if Kyle Larson had ended up not having a net gain of one spot because of that caution, would he still see it the same way?