23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace secured his second consecutive top-5 finish in the Cup Series at Richmond on Sunday. He came in fourth place behind teammate Tyler Reddick after what was an extremely controversial finish to the race. Wallace wasn’t pleased with how Austin Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin for the win and let this known in his post-race interviews.
Advertisement
He said, “That’s the hard thing. I was ready to man up, shake his hand and say, ‘Congrats!’ Can’t do that now. That was kind of BS.” Although there were other drivers as well who were critical of Dillon’s moves, the fandom found Wallace’s opinions to be particularly hypocritical considering his racing style in the past.
“I was gonna go shake his hand for deservedly winning, but not now…”@BubbaWallace on a strong points night for @23XIRacing and his view on the finish with Austin Dillon. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/XRiRWS2GDL
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) August 12, 2024
The No. 23 driver has seldom been considered to be the cleanest of drivers. One fan found the hilarity in him complaining about Dillon and laughed through a post on X, “@BubbaWallace cryin about someone getting wrecked” Another fan pointed out a particular incident to jog Wallace’s memory and asked, “Didn’t you try to whack Larsen?”
Wallace had spun Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson with two laps left in the Richmond race back in March in his bid to take fourth spot. The move backfired and he later apologized to Larson. Finding similarities between the two ordeals isn’t all that difficult. Another comment continued the bashing and read, “Bubba Wallace is a joke.” Away from all this noise, the thoughtful words of one fan stood out.
The collective hypocrisy against Austin Dillon and his aggressive racing style
Without question, Dillon wasn’t completely lawful by purposely spinning out fellow drivers. He could’ve compromised safety and caused serious accidents. But is this something that other drivers have never done before? Definitely not. This is what the fan reflected on when writing, “Why is Joey Denny and bubba trying to act like they never wrecked anyone. Come on guys stop.”
The sudden spike in anger against Dillon by naturally aggressive drivers like Wallace, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano appears to be of two colors. It doesn’t help but lead one to wonder if there is something more than just the demand for justice behind their opinions.
It could be that the fact that a driver who is considered a “silver spoon kid” bested them is hard to accept. Whatever the reason, it is now up to NASCAR to analyze and clear things up.
