![Bubba Wallace Alex Bowman]()
Wallet getting a little lighter.
Tempers flared after the NASCAR Cup Series race on the Chicago street course this weekend after Alex Bowman took the checkered flag.
During stage 2 of the Grant Park 165, before the race was red flagged for around 2 hours due to rain, Bowman got into Bubba Wallace and sent the #23 car spinning, causing significant damage to Bubba's car and ending any chance he had of winning in Chicago.
https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/1810077042290884964
And during the rain delay, Bowman apologized to Bubba and said that he simply got into the corner too hard, admitting that he felt terrible for ruining Bubba's day.
Well apparently Bubba wasn't ready to accept the apology just yet...
After the checkered flag, Bubba decided to show his displeasure to the race winner by door slamming Bowman into the wall as the #48 was celebrating his win.
https://twitter.com/NASCARonNBC/status/1810123959809020392
Yikes...
Bowman once again apologized to Bubba during his interview immediately after getting out of the car, and in the media center after the race, Bowman said he didn't believe Bubba should be penalized for putting him into the wall:
"No. He barely hit me. Everything was fine and it was plenty deserved."
https://twitter.com/joe_srigley/status/1810163928032272834
But apparently NASCAR didn't agree.
Today, it was announced that Bubba has been fined $50k for the contact after the race, though he wasn't assessed a points penalty which I'm sure is what the team was most worried about.
Interestingly, there was no penalty for Chase Elliott, who also made contact with Daniel Suarez after the race out of frustration for an incident on the track late in the race.
https://twitter.com/Basso488/status/1810293913581719919
So what was the difference between the two incidents? Well, I guess we'll have to wait for NASCAR to explain why one got a penalty and one didn't, but my guess is one big reason is because the Elliott vs. Suarez incident was in the heat of the moment, whereas Bubba's incident happened before the rain delay and allowed him time to cool off before deciding to put Bowman into the wall.
NASCAR probably also took issue with the fact that Bowman already had his window net down when Bubba put him into the wall, and considered the incident a safety violation. And Bubba's contact with Bowman put him into the wall and lifted his tire off the ground, which NASCAR probably saw as more egregious than Chase's contact with Suarez.
(Not saying I agree with their reasoning, just trying to guess what it was).
Either way, Bubba managed to avoid a points penalty, which is important as he sits near the playoff bubble. But he is going to have to write a check for losing his temper.
https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/1811023789964116422
