Lightning rarely strikes twice in the same spot… But for fans of Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace, it did. The closing laps of the Chicago Street Race felt like a replay from the year before, with the two going wheel-to-wheel for seventh position. Tempers flared, paints traded hands, and fenders bore the brunt of their rivalry once more.
Advertisement
Last year in Chicago, Wallace was turned sideways off Bowman’s nose in the early laps. He eventually retaliated with a door slam on the cooldown lap that earned him a $50,000 fine. Bowman took the win that day while Wallace salvaged a P13 finish. This time around, the showdown happened on Lap 70 of the 75-lap race.
Bowman nudged the No. 23 exiting Turn 2, sending the 23XI Toyota spinning down DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Bowman escaped the incident unscathed and crossed the line in eighth, while Wallace limped home in 28th, five laps adrift, his car crippled by a broken toe link. Yet, Wallace’s team owner, Denny Hamlin, chose not to point fingers at Bowman for the outcome.
The clash came during Round 2 of NASCAR’s in-season tournament, where the driver finishing higher advanced in the hunt for a $1 million prize. When the dust settled, it was Bowman who punched his ticket forward.
From Bowman’s perspective, Wallace had bounced him around like a pinball before the spin brought things to a head. Backing Bowman’s version of events, Hamlin broke it down in blunt terms on his podcast, Actions Detrimental.
“They were just playing graba, with the #48 and ending up getting the bad end of it. But if you’re the #48, I mean, I tried every way I could. I’m looking, I’m watching the replay, and I’m like, ’48? I just don’t understand really kind of what he did wrong there’,” Hamlin said.
“He got pinched into the wall off of 12. His bump into Bubba into (turn) one wasn’t like egregious or anything. And I think it wasn’t even like square in the back,” he added.
Hamlin narrated the thoughts that went through his mind when he learned about the hard racing happening on the track. “I thought when I when I looked at it, I mean, I texted him [Wallace] afterward was like, ‘What happened?’ Because I hadn’t seen anything,” he said.
“I just heard Bubba and Bowman got into it. I was like, ‘Oh, great. What now?’ I just don’t know how many options the #48 really had. He just got pinched in the wall like a lot,” added Hamlin.
In Hamlin’s eyes, the circumstances spoke volumes. With Bowman on fresher rubber and Wallace running on worn tires, the speed gap made the battle lopsided. Hamlin hinted that Wallace may have been better off letting the fight go rather than doubling down and paying the price.
After the race, the pair exchanged words near the garage exit in front of the crowd. Wallace remained tight-lipped with the media, but Bowman didn’t mince words. He didn’t outright blame Wallace but felt Wallace’s aggressive driving brought the chaos upon himself.
Hamlin on how Wallace handled the situation
Hamlin saw no reason to pull Wallace aside for a one-on-one, believing the driver of the No. 23 Toyota already had a clear read on the situation and the consequences at hand.
With the regular season hanging by a thread, Hamlin explained, “No, I think Bubba understands it. I think that’s why you saw him have the reaction that he did. I think that’s why he made the comments that he did. It seemed as though he took responsibility for it. He wasn’t clear when he tried to clear himself. So no, I think he handled it fine.”
Time is running out for Wallace and the 23XI camp. Just seven races are left for them to punch their ticket into the playoffs. Wallace is currently 13th in the standings with 443 points, including three top-fives and six top-10s.
He’s skating on thin ice. But with a few recent strong outings, Wallace’s postseason hopes are still very much alive.
