Bubba Wallace Accepts Atlanta NASCAR Penalty and Shifts Focus to Remaining Season

Bubba Wallace expressed greater acceptance of the penalty NASCAR issued during the final lap of the Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday and is now focusing on the rest of the regular season.

“I mean, kind of have to, right,” Wallace told reporters at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Saturday. “I mean, it is what it is.”

Wallace was originally scored second but was subsequently moved to the tail end of the lead lap after race control determined he crossed below the out-of-bounds line to gain an advantage. Wallace argued in real time that his position did not improve as a result.

Read Also:

“To me, I always thought it was gaining position, but no, it’s gaining track position, which I totally did,” Wallace explained. “So it is what it is. I thought they would care about the data that showed I tried to give it back, but the damage was already done. So it’s unfortunate but here we are.”

Wallace currently sits 13th in the standings with 55 points above the cutline, though he was projected to be 83 points higher before Atlanta. He and crew chief Charles Denike visited the NASCAR hauler post-race, but the defense offered little to counter the penalty.

“The damage was already done, so it didn’t matter and that was unfortunate,” Wallace stated.

https://www.motorsport.com/v/668446/?" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" loading="lazy

Watch: Blaney prevails with EchoPark win in wild OT

Does he agree with the spirit of the rule?

“I don’t know,” Wallace replied. “I’ve never really been in that scenario. I’ve had a couple close calls, but I’ll say as I made the move and saw where I was going to end up, I knew it was going to put everybody in a bad spot, which was unfortunate.

“At the end of the day, if (Ty Gibbs) didn’t push me at the line, I would have finished third, and I’m pretty sure they said that wouldn’t have been a penalty. So it’s like, I don’t know. I think NASCAR doesn’t ever want to be put into a position where they have to make that call, and they always tell us not to put them in that position. Unfortunately, I put them there. So all in all, a rule is a rule, and I crossed over the line. Oh, well.”

Source link