Bubba Wallace, right, shoves Kyle Larson after they crash during a NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 16. (Image: lasvegassun.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nOn Lap 94 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Wallace rammed his No. 45 Toyota into the rear quarter panel of Larson’s No. 5 Camaro as retaliation for being brushed into the wall when the two drivers were side by side.<\/p>\n
After the two drivers exited their cars, Wallace then shoved Larson several times, in addition to a NASCAR official who was trying to separate them.<\/p>\n
Larson had been eliminated from the Cup Series playoffs a week earlier. Wallace did not qualify to race for the Cup title. But the crash also caught a piece of Christopher Bell, a member of Wallace\u2019s Toyota camp who had been competing to make the final four. All three drivers were unable to continue the race, and Bell dropped to last in the eight-driver playoff standings.<\/p>\n
First On-Track Cup Suspension in 7 Years<\/b><\/h2>\n Steve O\u2019Donnell, the executive in charge of competition and racing operations, said the suspension was for Wallace\u2019s dangerous actions on the racetrack, not the shoving match afterward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we look at how that incident occurred, in our minds, (it was) really a dangerous act that we thought was intentional and put other competitors at risk,\u201d O\u2019Donnell said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.<\/p>\n
Wallace is the first Cup Series driver suspended for an on-track incident since Matt Kenseth was forced to sit out two races in 2015. John Hunter Nemechek will sit behind the wheel of Wallace\u2019s Toyota in this Sunday\u2019s race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.<\/p>\n
Apology Issued<\/b><\/h2>\n Wallace issued the following statement on Monday: \u201cI want to apologize for my actions on Sunday following the on-track incident with Kyle Larson and the No. 5 car. I compete with immense passion, and with passion at times comes frustration.”<\/p>\n
Wallace \u2013 the only Black driver at the top level of NASCAR \u2013 said his actions did not reflect 23XI Racing or any of his partners.<\/p>\n
“You live and learn, and I intend to learn from this,” his statement said.<\/p>\n
His statement did not specifically address causing Larson to crash, however. (Wallace claimed his steering broke when he hit the wall.)<\/p>\n
Joey Logano, winner of Sunday\u2019s race and the first driver locked into the championship-deciding finale, said Wallace\u2019s \u201cretaliation is not OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he spun (Larson) into the infield, maybe it\u2019s a little better,\u201d Logano said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. \u201cBut right-rear hooking someone in the dogleg is not OK. I don\u2019t think anyone realizes how bad that could have been. That could have been the end of Kyle Larson\u2019s career. That, to me, was what was on the line. Or, his life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bubba Wallace received a one-race suspension from NASCAR on Tuesday. That’s after an investigation determined he deliberately spun reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson during the NASCAR Cup Series race in Las Vegas on Sunday. On Lap 94 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Wallace rammed his No. 45 Toyota into the rear quarter panel of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":238251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81886,83320],"tags":[83321,81930,83322,23,82542,83192],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Bubba Wallace Suspended from NASCAR Series For Intentional Vegas Crash - Casino.org<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n