Folks, a Darlington race without thrill is no Darlington race at all. That Chase Briscoe vs Kyle Busch fight from last season is still fresh in our minds. And recently, ‘the Track Too Tough to Tame’ has pulled off another spectacular race. But you have got to feel it for William Byron. Entering the race, he was Darlington’s most successful driver in the next-gen. One win and the best average finish (10.3) amongst the lot. And he looked destined to win the Goodyear 400 after leading 243 laps. But in the end, the infamous crash and a late race caution derailed Byron’s hopes for a second win for the season. However, there’s more to the disappointment; many are calling it race manipulation, with Bubba Wallace embroiled in the center of this controversy.

So, Denny Hamlin bagged the win at the Goodyear 400, taking his Darlington tally to 5. And not just that, this is also his 2nd win of the season, that to a back-to-back. He recently also won his home race in Martinsville. However, if you look back, the #11 might not have won if that last caution had not come when Bubba Wallace wrecked Kyle Larson with 4 laps to go. But it did, and now everyone is calling it a ‘driver helping out his boss’ moment. In fact, Ryan Blaney caught MJ off guard, straight up asking him about it! And it seems like fans have rallied behind Blaney to call Wallace out!

Did Bubba Wallace do that on purpose?

Here’s what went down at Darlington: With six laps to go, Tyler Reddick was leading the race, but Ryan Blaney was on his tail, trying to pass him. Reddick, for some time, did a good job defending, but eventually, Blaney took the bottom line and sped past to take the lead with 4 to go in the race. However, when we thought Team Penske would finally get their first win of the season, a caution flag was thrown. Courtesy of Bubba Wallace spinning Kyle Larson.

Then, on the final restart of the race, Denny Hamlin, who was running third, found himself as the leader thanks to his pit crew. The No. 12 team wasn’t as sharp as their driver on the pit road. In fact, Blaney dropped to P5, with William Byron taking P2, Christopher Bell in 3rd, and Tyler Reddick in 4th. Naturally, Blaney was frustrated, he worked hard to put himself in that position to get the win. You can only imagine the pain he must’ve felt to mount a resident comeback after three DNFs and engine woes to start the 2025 season.

His effort was appreciated by Michael Jordan as he knew had it not been for the late caution, Blaney was the rightful winner. MJ even acknowledged Blaney’s run and greeted him on the pit road. Despite Blaney and Bubba Wallace being good friends, the Penske driver couldn’t help but drop a cheeky comment, hinting at a potential race manipulative move. Laughingly, he told MJ, “Hey, if your boy (Bubba Wallace) didn’t spin out Larson…” Clearly, Jordan was not expecting this, but he was quick to reply, “Did he spin out Larson? I couldn’t tell.” Take a look:

MJ denied any involvement of his team in Denny Hamlin’s win. Well, NASCAR fans think otherwise. However, credit has to be given to the #11’s pit crew for doing an amazing job at the final pit stop. Which launched Hamlin to the front.

Also, Bubba Wallace spoke of the Larson incident, and according to him, it was unintentional. NASCAR Journalist Jeff Gluck had a chat with Wallace post-race. He revealed all the details in his X post. Gluck wrote, “Bubba Wallace told me he didn’t think it was warranted for Larson to check up as much as he did after Reddick hit the wall but apologized for ruining Blaney’s day. He came up and whispered something in Blaney’s ear on pit road, and Blaney declined to say what it was.”

Well, fans aren’t buying any of it. They are clear with their verdict of race manipulation!

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Fans call out Bubba Wallace at Darlington!

Before we dive into this, we need to understand how things went down for Larson. The #5 driver was not having the best day. On just the 4th lap of the race, Larson spun with his car, diving nose first into the inside wall at the backstretch. Larson was unable to recover from that all day. And when the leaders were lapping him, Reddick got too deep into the turn, hitting the outside wall. This probably caught Larson off guard. He slowed down a bit, and Wallace was right behind him and could not help but get into him.

But fans don’t think this was the case. They are calling for a suspension for Wallace. One fan wrote, “Race manipulation by Bubba for Hamlin to win. Bubba should be suspended, and Hamlin wins should be stripped away.” Well, this wasn’t as egregious as last year’s Martinsville playoff race. We all know how that panned out, and drivers were let off the hook. So, it’s highly unlikely that NASCAR will take a decision on this incident.

Another fan echoing the same emotion wrote, “Wallace causing the wreck as soon as Blaney passed Reddick to ensure he gave Toyota another chance is insane. No coincidence there.” Wallace has a history of pulling off such antics. Last year at Martinsville, he slowed down to allow Christopher Bell to gain a position, citing issues with his race car. Well, the outcome of today’s incident wasn’t entirely under his control but his reputation didn’t help his case.

However, even Kyle Larson’s crew chief did not think it was deliberate. NASCAR journalist Kelly Crandall reported, “Cliff Daniels (#5 crew chief) said that Kyle Larson wanted to go low off Turn 2 when the leaders were there and doesn’t think Bubba Wallace knew the 5 car was down there and spun him. Larson moved low and slowed down.” And even if you see Larson’s in-car camera view, he got wrecked the moment Reddick bounced off the wall. So it does seem like a domino effect to the #45’s incident. Also, according to Gluck, “Cliff Daniels said Kyle told him he felt bad about being part of the last caution.” Clearly, Larson is taking responsibility for it.

But still, fans think it was deliberate; one even called it “Cheating.” Another fan wrote, “Can you say “race manipulation “???? Bubba took out Larson to bring out the caution!!!!!!!” Well, it won’t be fair to draw conclusions just yet. At least, not until NASCAR has looked into it. But these reactions are also to Hamlin winning his second race of the season. It’s no secret that he proudly wears the most hated NASCAR driver’s crown. And after the Martinsville race celebration, with him flying a flag of ‘#11 against the world,’ riled fans up.

Maybe this second win was like salt in the wounds. One fan, taking a sly gibe at Toyota, wrote, “Bubba spun out Larson, Hamlin wins.” And while all this debate and discussion is raging on, one fan just could not believe the series of events that unfolded at Darlington. He wrote, “What in the name of hell was the “world’s best driver (Larson)” doing in the racing groove being that many laps down… and why did Wallace wreck him to bring the caution out? Getting worse than roller-derby.”

Folks, what do you think? Was it deliberate or an honest mistake by Bubba Wallace? Who’s at fault? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.