We have our final four of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series after Martinsville, and what a battle has it been for those last two spots? In the last 24 laps, Kyle Larson was in the lead; however, equally desperate for the win were Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney with a ticket to Phoenix on the line. Both simultaneously passed the #5 car after some hard racing. In the end, Elliott and Blaney fought to the finish line, but it was the Penske driver, the defending champion, who came on top.

However, this was not the only intense battle brewing in the race. Christopher Bell and William Byron were the two top-seeded drivers entering the race in 3rd and 4th place above the cutline. However, with Blaney leading the pack with 14 laps to go and expected to take the checkered, it became clear that only one of them could make it through on points. Until the very last turn of the very last lap, Byron was in the lead. However, Bell surprisingly took a point at the very end and fans have accused Bubba Wallace of manipulating the race.

Did Bubba Wallace help Christopher Bell at Martinsville?

Entering the race, Bell was +29 points above the cutline, and Byron was +7 points behind him, and it was expected to be a tight battle between the two. Luckily for Byron, Martinsville isn’t exactly Bell’s strong suit, having an average finish of 16.2 as opposed to Byron’s 13.2 on the track. Even in the qualification, Byron started the race from P3 whereas the JGR driver was in 16th. However, still, the #20 car was not out of contention thanks to the points cushion.

Bell needed a 13th-place finish to secure a spot in Phoenix if any driver below the cutline was to win the race; with Blaney in the lead and Bell way behind the pack, the JGR driver started swerving past everyone. As we neared the end of the race, Byron was 6th in standing and Christopher Bell was 19th. This had Byron +1 point ahead of Bell as he looked to take the final spot in the race. However, at the last turn, Bell overtakes Bubba Wallace to take the 18th spot and tieing in points with Byron. A tie meant Bell would progress since, in case of a tiebreaker, NASCAR considers the best finishes in any of the races in the round of three and Bell bested Byron with a P2 at Las Vegas.

However, the ease with which Bell was just able to go past Bubba Wallace has fans smell something fishy. The #23 is being accused of manipulating the race to help his fellow Toyota driver. However, Bubba’s stand on the matter is that there were some problems with his car at the end of the race, and hence, he dropped a position; Wallace said, “Half straightaway back right. I went loose or something broke and nursing it. And then he tried to slide me (Christopher Bell) I’m like brother…just trying to buy their time and not crash and bring out a caution and jumble up the whole field.”

But fans aren’t buying it! They feel he deliberately slowed down to let the number #20 car pass. But in the end, it was to no avail as Bell got loose passing the #23 and hitting the Wall. And his driving against the wall for the finish in Ross Chastain’s ‘Hail Melon’ style is illegal in NASCAR’s books. Eventually, Byron joined Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Blaney in the championship 4 lineup. Yet, fans are not leaving Wallace off the hook calling him a “liar.”

Fans hit out at Bubba Wallace for race manipulation

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Initially progressing for Christopher Bell seemed to get impossible as Byron was in 5th position and +2 points above Bell. Closing that gap with only 15 laps to go seemed unlikely. But that was when Denny Hamlin passed William Byron to take the 5th position and the points gap reduced to +1. This is when perhaps the #20 team and Toyota saw an opportunity to get another car into the championship 4 against the two Fords of Logano and Blaney. And naturally, Bubba Wallace has denied helping the #20 with a rebuttal that Bell slid into him at the end. However, fans aren’t believing the #23 driver. One fan on this wrote, “Lies lies lies lies lies.”

Another fan echoed the same emotions and asked NASCAR to penalize Wallace. Precedence has shown that NASCAR is not kind when it comes to race manipulation. NASCAR stripped Cole Custer of 50 points and fined him $100,000 for helping his SHR teammate Chase Briscoe progress to round three of the 2022 Cup playoffs. Custer, in the race, abruptly slowed down, blocking the cars behind him while Briscoe netted two spots. One fan is asking for the same in this case as he wrote, “Lying through his teeth, penalties coming go look at his car now, any down tires? Anything broke, I doubt it.”

Fans think if there is any truth to Wallace’s claims, have his car sent for inspection. However, they are sure nothing would come out of it but a heavy penalty for the #23 car. A fan on this wrote, “Send it to R&D. They can check to see if anything is broken or flat tire. Also SIM data. I’m pretty sure he left bell catch and pass him on purpose. Should be a hefty penalty for that.”

While some fans stayed put with their liar verdict for Wallace, according to them, that wasn’t the only case of race manipulation at Martinsville. They noted that even Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon tried to help their Chevy teammate by blocking Brad Keselowski from passing Byron. Because if he had dropped another position, it would have made things easy for the #20 team. A fan wrote, “He’s (Wallace) a liar. But Chastain and Dillon did it worse and more egregiously so it is what it is.” 

Even some radio conversations have revealed that #1 and #3 were helping Byron at the final stages of the race. So clearly, race manipulation exists in the sport, and fans know it. One fan, taking a sarcastic jibe at Wallace, wrote, “Cool cool. Nice story.” Well, hopefully, NASCAR can decide if any unfair means were used to change the race results and hand out strict penalties for the same.

What do you think of Wallace helping Bell? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.