As announced on Tuesday, NASCAR suspended Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott for intentionally crashing into Denny Hamlin during Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. And since then, fans have been wondering who would substitute for Elliott in the upcoming Gateway Motorsports Park race.
Earlier, when Elliott was unable to compete in 6 races owing to his fractured tibia, Xfinity driver Josh Berry stepped up and substituted for him in most races, with Jordan Taylor taking the #9 car’s wheel at COTA.
However, now, with Berry is already filling in for Alex Bowman who suffers from a spine injury, the team announced that Spire Motorsports driver Corey LaJoie will be driving the #9 in the upcoming race.
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Bubba Wallace Takes a Dig at Chase Elliott’s Third Substitute
Bubba Wallace shares a great rapport with Stacking Pennies’ host Corey LaJoie. Taking a dig at his friend’s new gig, Wallace retweeted the post about LaJoie substituting for Elliott with a witty caption, “Stacking quarters.”
Stacking quarters https://t.co/fuCk9X1xkg
— Bubba Wallace (@BubbaWallace) May 30, 2023
Highly impressed by Wallace’s sense of humor, NASCAR fans applauded the 23XI Racing driver for making them laugh. A Twitter user wrote, “Love this tweet🤣🤣”
Whereas another tweeted, “Literally LOL’d. This is the tweet of the day!!”
In fact, NASCAR spotter Brett Griffin also chimed in and joked about the money LaJoie would be making from the gig.
If he doesn’t finish in the Top 10. I will be shocked
— Tristan Kluckner (@kluckne5) May 30, 2023
Furthermore, many suggested that it was a rare opportunity for LaJoie to cash in on HMS.
One fan wrote, “Stacking some serious $$$ this weekend…”
While another tweeted, “Sh*t he stacking hundreds and will finish top 5.”
WATCH THIS STORY: Guilty Bubba Wallace Admits He “Overstepped Boundaries” in the $1 Million-Worth Assault in 2022
The Statement NASCAR Put Out Announcing Chase Elliott’s Suspension
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Citing that Elliott’s actions consisted of removing a championship opponent from contention in a dangerous manner, NASCAR pointed out that the HMS driver is penalized based on sections 4.3.A and 4.4.C & D of NASCAR’s Member Code of Conduct.
As per NASCAR.com, while talking about the decision, the governing body’s senior vice president of competition, Elton Sawyer, said, “We take this very seriously. The incident that happened off Turn 4, after looking at all the available resources … it was an intentional act by Chase, in our opinion, after reviewing all the available resources there.”
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Moreover, Sawyer added that although NASCAR acknowledges the passion of the drivers, actions like these can have some unfortunate consequences.
He added, “In the heat of the battle, things happen, but drivers need to understand you have to handle that in a completely different way than hooking someone in the right rear and putting them in harm’s way.”
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Respecting NASCAR’s decision, HMS said that they understand the need to maintain consistency in officiating. Furthermore, the team announced that they would not be appealing the penalty and instead submit a formal request for a playoff waiver.