The Chicago Street Race on Sunday delivered a fitting matchup between Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge. A year after an incident on the same track, NASCAR is reportedly going to investigate what happened on Sunday.
On Sunday’s episode of The Teardown, Jeff Gluck of The Athletic said that he’s been told NASCAR will investigate to see if Bowman right-rear hooked Wallace in the final laps.
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With eight laps to go in the Chicago Street Race, Bowman (7th place) was behind Wallace (6th place). The No. 48 car had much newer tires, giving him an advantage that seemingly should have allowed him to pass the No. 23.
Wallace got aggressive with his defensive moves, leading to a contentious battle for sixth place. The two cars kept trading paint, pushing each other into the wall or knocking one another loose for a moment. With six laps to go, on Turn 2, Wallace got ahead but then tried to clear himself and moved in front of the No. 48. That’s when he collided with Bowman, resulting in a spin for the No. 23.
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The spin dropped Wallace from 7th to outside the top 25, and he sustained enough damage that he finished 28th on the day. What could have been a top-10 finish for the No. 23 on a road course, providing him with much-needed points, turned into a disastrous day.
Immediately after the race, Bowman was asked about the incident and expressed his belief that the two had squashed their issues coming into Chicago. However, the aggressive and physical racing in the final laps seemed to indicate that was not the case.
“I thought we had squashed our beef, but clearly we have not.”
Alex Bowman on the incident with Bubba Wallace at the Chicago Street Race (via Jeff Gluck)
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Wallace did find his way to Bowman shortly after, and the two had a brief exchange. It never got physical, and Wallace’s mild reaction suggests he knows that what happened might have simply been the result of poor decision-making.
NASCAR’s investigation should be a short one, as the spin by Wallace was caused more by his actions than by Bowman’s. Footage from the in-car camera should also provide further evidence that no discipline is necessary, as an intentional right hook did not occur.
Ultimately, Wallace likely cost himself at least 20 points. If he had just given up the spot earlier to Bowman, who had fresher tires, he could have finished 20 spots higher than he did. That would have given him a 23-point cushion above the cutline, instead of the 3-point advantage he holds now heading into Sonoma.
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