A much-talked-about subject lately in the NASCAR paddock has been the loss of respect between drivers. It was Kyle Busch who pointed to it first. It was Denny Hamlin who agreed with his former teammate’s opinion, followed by other drivers also adding in their two cents. And now, it’s Bubba Wallace who has come out with a different take on this subject.
Kyle Busch had pointed before the Cup race in Atlanta towards the problem in the garage today, how drivers have “completely lost any sense of respect” for each other. “That’s where the problem lies, is that nobody gives two s**ts about anyone else,” he had said.
A few days after that, Denny Hamlin seconded that opinion as he claimed the respect “certainly is lost,” and that “things have changed” in modern-day NASCAR.
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But Bubba Wallace’s take is a little different than Busch’s and Denny Hamlin‘s.
Bubba Wallace has a different take on the loss of respect subject
In a recent interaction with the media, Wallace shared his opinion on the ongoing conversation around the lack of respect between drivers today as he disagreed with the notion that only young drivers are to be blamed for this.
Wallace said, “It’s from the top down. We’re talking about the new age but can’t even talk to some of the guys that have been here for a long time, so it’s a lack of respect from the top down.”
“It’s been cutthroat,” he added.
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Wallace recalls his run-in with Kyle Busch from the past
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Bubba Wallace recalled an incident involving Kyle Busch from a few years ago when they had their own run-in as he described, “He talked, you know, he was like, ‘I caught you at a couple of races ago in Texas.’ And he was like, ‘You ever heard of the Mark Martin rule?’ I’m like, ‘What’s that?’
“He was like, ‘When I catch you, layover.’ I’m like, ‘No, I don’t race like that, pal. You get on the inside of me you can get there,’ but you know it’s just a total different style of racing then.
“We both, it’s kind of like butting heads.”
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@BubbaWallace says the lack of respect issues in the garage are due to the veteran drivers unwilling to listen not the other way around as veterans like Kyle Busch and @dennyhamlin have suggested. pic.twitter.com/NHljN6wfM8
— Kyle Dalton (@kdsportswriter) March 29, 2023
Wallace claimed he agrees with both sides and that the respect in the garage is indeed lost. Having said that, he said he tries to race everybody with respect, “I know some guys … run you up the track or run you off the track. If I do that, it’s my mistake.”
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“But it’s from the top down,” he reiterated.