If we had a nickel for every time Alex Bowman‘s celebration was interrupted by a NASCAR rival, we’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it is weird that it has happened twice. Just recently, the Chicago Street Race winner and Hendrick Motorsports‘ #48’s victory lap celebrations were interrupted by a fuming Bubba Wallace. Bowman’s fault? He had bumped into the #23 on the 25th lap, spinning him out to collide with the wall. Relegated to a P13 finish, Wallace took matters into his own hands and bumped the HMS racer’s car door with his left front tire (commonly known as door slamming) in retaliation!

On the other hand, also dealing with some controversy of his own, was another Hendrick driver, Chase Elliott, albeit with an unlikely opponent! The incident unfolded when Elliott reportedly nudged Daniel Suarez. Later, as the 2020 Cup Series champion was poised to finish in the Top-15, the Trackhouse Racing star bumped the #9’s rear on the final turn, ending the latter’s race with a P21 finish. The Mexican-native, however, finished P11. But that’s not all! In a show of anger and frustration, Elliott even chased his opponent down on the cooldown lap and brake-checked him. The duo also exchanged some words on pit road.

Despite two similar incidents happening during the same race, the two “offenders” aren’t receiving the same treatment if you ask fans! While Wallace might be facing penalties as per several reports, no such developments have come forth in Elliott’s case.

And this is on top of Alex Bowman admitting how his incident with Wallace wasn’t the latter’s fault at all! Cutting a sorry figure in a post-race conversation, the #48 race had shared, “I just messed up and was trying to get my windshield wiper on and missed a corner and ruined their whole day. I hate that and I’m still embarrassed by that,” before adding, “He barely hit me, everything was fine and it was plenty deserved.”

So naturally, the NASCAR community wasn’t pleased as they decided to come down heavily on NASCAR’s Most Popular driver for his behavior!

NASCAR fans want some justice meted out to the HMS driver

Safe to say, many fans were angry with Chase Elliott’s shenanigans. Some even called for a drastic measure against the driver, writing, “Obviously they need to suspend Chase Elliott for this.” Another social media user was baffled that two instances of the same offence is garnering different reactions, and commented, “Wait, did Chase do the same thing as Bubba with no one saying a word about it?”

Notably, NBC might have something to do with the different levels of criticism that the two drivers are facing. As per Heavy.com, since Alex Bowman was the race winner and the incident happened during his victory lap, the cameras were focused on him (as expected to be), putting Wallace’s actions in clear view. Hence, Elliott’s actions went largely unnoticed initially, with Daniel Hemric dashcam turning out to be one of the few video evidences!

One critic took the harsher route and demanded strict action against the driver, saying, “Chase Elliott is a th*g and should be parked for the rest of the season.” Another NASCAR fan also jeered at the HMS driver for being able to dish out punishment and not take it, “LOL. Don’t give it if you can’t take it right back Chase. This is a nothing burger.”

In a post-race interview, Daniel Suarez did share that Elliott was the one who instigated the on-track altercation. “We got together right there in the last couple of corners. He pushed me a little bit, and then I pushed him with all my intention, and I ended up hitting him pretty good on the very last corner. My bad on that,” the #99 driver revealed.

Finally, someone noted that, “Chase got what he deserved.” There weren’t too many willing to lend a sympathetic ear, with another user writing, “So you’re telling me chase started some cr*p, got dumped for it, and wants us to feel bad for him? What a pity party.”

In another similar occurrence, the 28-year-old was suspended for one race last year after he intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin during the Coca-Cola 600. In 2022, Bubba Wallace also faced a one race suspension for intentionally wrecking Kyle Larson in a “dangerous act” of retaliation. But this time, though, it seems both #23 and #9 might be let off the hook by NASCAR, since both were post-race incidents. If we are to look at history, Martin Truex Jr serves as the biggest example for his actions at Richmond in April this year. After a dominant MTJ lost to Denny Hamlin, he vented his frustration by slamming Kyle Larson’s door, and bumping the #11’s rear three times. However, the driver escaped penalty!

Looking at this, do you think either Bubba Wallace or Chase Elliott will face the same fate? Let us know what you think!