If there is anything that we have learned from the Bowman-Wallace incident, it’s that NASCAR listens to its fans. The sanctioning body fined Bubba Wallace $50,000 for door-slamming Alex Bowman during the cool-down lap at Chicago Street Course. The incident was followed by a social media frenzy, with fans calling for Wallace’s suspension, points deduction, and even an expulsion from the sport. Even though Alex Bowman said he “deserved” the retaliation, fans were out for blood, and NASCAR followed suit.

23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin, speaking ahead of the Cup Series race at Pocono, echoed similar sentiments, while reiterating that the team will not appeal NASCAR’s decision to penalize their driver.

Denny Hamlin credits media coverage for Wallace’s penalty

Starting the race in sixth place at Chicago Street Course, Bubba Wallace was hoping to secure his fourth top-5 finish of the season. However, the saga began in Lap 25 when Alex Bowman, who was attempting to clear his windshield, missed the mark and took a wrong turn, colliding with Bubba Wallace and causing him to spin. While Wallace managed to recover from the setback to finish 13th, Alex Bowman rubbed salt in his wounds by winning the race. This prompted a distraught Wallace to door-slam into Bowman during the cool-down lap under caution, while the race winner had his window net down and his seatbelt possibly loosened.

The incident was televised live by NBC Sports, prompting a severe backlash for Bubba Wallace on social media. Speaking about what prompted NASCAR to penalize Wallace, Denny Hamlin said in the pre-race press conference at Pocono Raceway, “It’s a judgment call, more than likely, we’ve seen these things happen in other sports where the cameras are on you live, it’s not something that got cut away to and said ‘Oh yeah, by the way, this happened after the checker.’ I think it just being live and everyone seeing it probably caused a little bit more of a social media uproar which then they responded to that.”

After the race, NBC Sports covered Alex Bowman’s cool-down lap but paid little to no attention to a similar incident between Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez. The Hendrick Motorsports driver door-slammed Suarez under caution during the cool-down lap as well, and while some might argue that the contact was not as aggressive, it didn’t even get any media coverage. As a result, fans didn’t know the incident occurred, and there was no social media buzz surrounding the altercation. Moreover, being ‘NASCAR’s most popular driver’ has its perks, and penalizing Chase Elliott may have resulted in fan backlash as well.

Deciding not to appeal the penalty is probably the right call from 23XI Racing. There’s no denying that Bubba Wallace should have maintained his composure during the cool-down lap and is rightly held accountable for his actions. The problem lies in NASCAR’s inconsistency in handing over their penalties, as Chase Elliott walked away scot-free. With playoffs on the horizon, Wallace should put the incident behind him and focus on the remaining races in the regular season.

Bubba Wallace’s struggles continue for a playoff spot

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Unlike last year, where Bubba Wallace was able to make it to the playoffs through points, the 30-year-old finds himself outside the bubble this time around. With little to no chance of making it to the postseason through points alone, Wallace knows that all he needs is a checkered flag to instantly turn his season around. With six races remaining until the regular season ends, it’s not like Wallace doesn’t have the opportunity to do just that, but whether he takes them is a different matter entirely.

While speaking to the media at the 2024 Ally 400 race, Denny Hamlin spoke about Bubba Wallace’s struggles this season. He said, “I think he’s (Bubba Wallace) still probably frustrated, with himself at times, with the team at times.” The Joe Gibbs Racing driver went on to say, “Certainly, with some guidance with the team, we’ve tried to help them, guide them through those tough times that you’re always gonna have, but I mentioned to him this week that you got just a handful of races that we gotta get done and it certainly means a lot to us to make the playoffs and certainly to him to make the playoffs.”

As things stand, Bubba Wallace is just outside the wild-card playoff points standings in 17th place, 45 points behind 16th place Chris Buescher. With the Cup Series heading to Pocono Raceway for HighPoint.Com 400, Wallace will start the race in 29th place, hoping to do better than his 11th place finish last year.

Do you think Bubba Wallace will make it to the playoffs? Let us know in the comments!