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LAS VEGAS, NV – OCTOBER 16: Bubba Wallace (#45 23XI Racing MoneyLion Toyota) has an altercation with Kyle Larson (#5 Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet) after Wallace collided into Larson during the South Point 400 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race on October 16, 2022, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Jeff Speer/LVMS/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/GettyImages-1244028704.jpg?width=600)
via Getty
LAS VEGAS, NV – OCTOBER 16: Bubba Wallace (#45 23XI Racing MoneyLion Toyota) has an altercation with Kyle Larson (#5 Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet) after Wallace collided into Larson during the South Point 400 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race on October 16, 2022, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Jeff Speer/LVMS/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Of course, it was assumed; it was observed, and it was judged that Bubba Wallace was in the wrong for intentionally wrecking Kyle Larson in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. However, upon a closer look, particularly from the ones who know the drivers, a different narrative comes into the picture.
Now, it is a fact that Wallace made the huge, very dangerous mistake of wrecking Larson in the place and at the speed he did.
But before that happened, it was the Hendrick Motorsports driver who put the 23XI Racing driver in a pretty dangerous spot as well.
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BRISTOL, TENNESSEE – SEPTEMBER 17: Bubba Wallace, driver of the #45 MoneyLion Toyota, looks on in the garage area after mechanical issue during the NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 17, 2022 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
This was something that a lot of Cup Series drivers also observed, directly or indirectly, in one way or the other. First of all, almost all of them share the same opinion that one doesn’t need to touch another driver’s car in order to wreck them.
The Next Gen car’s aerodynamics are enough to do so at a certain proximity.
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NASCAR drivers on the Kyle Larson-Bubba Wallace incident
Speaking about this, Corey LaJoie explained the “different perspective” lonely drivers have in the cockpit.
“You don’t see the whole picture, you don’t see how tight the guy got, you don’t see who’s on that guy’s left rear quarter, you just don’t see the whole picture at the moment,” he said. “You feel like you were wronged, and sometimes you see red.”
Chase Briscoe as well claimed that despite Larson not actually touching Wallace, a wreck was imminent. “Kyle put Bubba in a really bad situation from an aero standpoint, and Bubba, I think, thought that he was going to leave him a little more room,” he added.
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This year’s Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric also emphasized how, despite Larson not having any malice in his intent, he nonetheless overdrove the corner and put them both “in a bad spot.”
Whereas in Austin Dillon’s opinion, the fair game was on until Wallace was in a sandwich between Larson and the wall.
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“If you don’t touch the guy, we know what the aero does when you get that close to the wall. You take the chance of knocking the wall down, so you’re still in control of the car until someone really puts their right front fender into your car,” he described.
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