Crashes and NASCAR have always gone hand in hand. Sometimes chaos unfolds naturally, while other wrecks are sparked by drivers themselves, in a desperate move to overtake, a payback for earlier contact, or simply a byproduct of racing on the edge that keeps fans on the edge of their seats.
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Yet, behind the spectacle lie the grim reminders of the sport’s danger, with tragedies like Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s fatal crash accentuating the risks every driver accepts when strapping into the car. Bubba Wallace once came face-to-face with that reality in a near-death experience.
Appearing on Casuals with Katie Nolan, Wallace vividly recalled his harrowing 2018 crash at Pocono. He narrated, “My brakes blew out. You want to talk about scary stuff? 2018. Pocono. Rookie year. Brakes explode. Boom!
“I turn left, right?… And when I turned left, I was going straight, straight for the wall. So, that was actually the most scared I’ve ever been in the car. I thought I was going to die, though. Like legit.”
At the very last second, Wallace’s No. 43 Chevy shifted just enough to keep him alive. “Oh, thank God. This is just going to hurt now,” he remembered thinking before slamming into the wall.
In those five seconds, time slowed to a crawl. Wallace shattered either the gas or clutch pedal with his foot and bit through his cheek, escaping with a sore foot and a painful bite mark as reminders.
Driving for Richard Petty Motorsports at the time, Wallace had lost control on Pocono’s 3,740-foot front stretch after his brakes failed completely. His car tore through the infield grass and smashed into the outside retaining wall.
Though he gave a thumbs-up climbing from the wreck, he collapsed on the track before being taken to the infield care center. Wallace later admitted he had felt the brakes fading in the closing laps, but the total failure left him helpless.
Today, the 31-year-old Mobile, Alabama native suits up for Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing team, and with his win in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis earlier this year, he has already punched his ticket into the playoffs.
