Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman are in a good place, having talked out the beating and banging road rage they put on in last Sunday’s Chicago Street Race.
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Time will tell if that’s truly the case. Well, at least as soon as Sunday’s road course race at Sonoma Raceway. But to hear both drivers tell it during media availability on Saturday at Sonoma, they’ve practically kissed and made up.
“We get to the hotel for dinner two nights ago now, and he (Bowman) is waiting to get seated right in front of us,” Wallace said. “I just come up, give a big bear hug and told him again, ‘Hey, we’re good. Nothing’s wrong.’”
In a way, Wallace even put his money where his mouth was. When someone else bought his dinner that evening, Wallace told the waiter that he’d be taking care of Bowman’s bill as somewhat of a mea culpa.
“Monday, Tuesday, I was pretty down and mad at myself,” Wallace said. “And then like, oops, I made a mistake doing something else around the house. And it’s like the magnitude is different, but still, a mistake’s a mistake, so you just move on. It’s been fine the last couple days. But yeah, I would say it’d be totally different last year.”
Part of the reason for the incident may have been because of the pressure Wallace is feeling right now. Even though he’s 13th in the regular point standings, three drivers below him have wins, giving them priority for a playoff spot. As a result, Wallace is more precisely on the playoff bubble.
As for Bowman, he agreed that things may have been rough, but that the media made too much of the incident. “I think the media definitely wanted that to go in a direction that it didn’t go,” Bowman said. “We talked after the race and I saw him the other night at dinner. I think we’re all good.”
Wallace appeared to be the initial instigator and Bowman simply defended himself and his place on the racetrack, ultimately leading to Wallace wrecking and finishing 28th.
“I certainly hate that he got wrecked,” said Bowman, who finished eighth in the race. “I don’t think that much contact was necessary in that situation. But I also understand that he’s trying to race for the (In-Season) bracket challenge and finish the best he can.
“Kind of is what it is. And he bought me dinner the other night, so we’re good. I’ll move on from it.”
For now, it’s all water under the bridge between Bowman and Wallace.
