NASCAR announces verdict in Bubba Wallace’s code of conduct investigation

NASCAR has completed its investigation into driver Bubba Wallace following the high-profile on-track incident at the Cup Series race in Chicago. Wallace intentionally drove into Alex Bowman during the cool-down lap shortly after Bowman won the race on the Chicago Street Course.

The incident was a direct result of a collision earlier in the race. On lap 25, contact between the cars of Bowman and Wallace caused the latter to spin out, significantly affecting his performance and indirectly affecting Daniel Suarez, who had to bring his car to a stop. At this point, Wallace, who had started sixth and was consistently running in the top 10, was battling for a playoff spot, but ultimately ended up in 13th place due to the incident.

NASCAR responded to the situation the following Wednesday, when the organization decided to fine Wallace $50,000. Notably, they refrained from deducting points from the driver—a decision that stands in stark contrast to a similar case in Nashville, where Carson Hocevar was both deducted points and fined.

According to NASCAR’s official statement:

“Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, was fined $50,000 for violating Sections 4.4.B and D: NASCAR Member Code of Conduct during Sunday’s Grant Park 165.”

Alex Bowman, the winner of the Chicago race and inadvertent trigger of the controversy, expressed a mixture of regret and understanding for Wallace to the media after the race. He commented:

“He has every right to be angry; I would be angry too. I tried calling him during the rain delay and texted him.

“There’s nothing I can do to make it better, and I’m sure our victory will probably only make it worse.

“I just messed up and ruined his day and I hate that.”

This is not the first time Wallace has faced penalties from NASCAR. One notable incident occurred in 2019 when he was working for Richard Petty Motorsports. He admitted to intentionally skidding to get a caution, which resulted in both a fine and a point deduction.

2024 Grant Part 165 Cup Series Results

• A. Bowman – Chevrolet · #48, Status: Running, Points: 54
• T. Reddick – Toyota · #45, Status: Running, Points: 37
• T. Gibbs – Toyota · #54, Status: Running, Points: 42
• J. Hand – Ford · #60, Status: Running, Points: 43
• M. McDowell – Ford · #34, Status: Running, Points: 32
• R. Stenhouse, Jr. – Chevrolet · #47, Status: Running, Points: 34
• T. Gilliland – Ford · #38, Status: Running, Points: 33
• W. Byron – Chevrolet · #24, Status: Running, Points: 29
• K. Busch – Chevrolet · #8, Status: Running, Points: 28
• R. Blaney – Ford · #12, Status: Running, Points: 27
• D. Suarez – Chevrolet · #99, Status: Running, Points: 27
• D. Hemric – Chevrolet · #31, Status: Running, Points: 29
• D. Wallace, Jr. – Toyota · #23, Status: Running, Points: 28
• N. Gragson – Ford · #10, Status: Running, Points: 28
• A. Cindric – Ford · #2, Status: Running, Points: 22
• J. Haley – Ford · #51, Status: Running, Points: 21
• Z. Smith – Chevrolet · #71, Status: Running, Points: 20
• B. Keselowski – Ford · #6, Status: Running, Points: 27
• A. Dillon – Chevrolet · #3, Status: Running, Points: 18
• C. Buescher – Ford · #17, Status: Running, Points: 17
• C. Elliott – Chevrolet · #9, Status: Running, Points: 16
• R. Chastain – Chevrolet · #1, Status: Running, Points: 15
• J. Logano – Ford · #22, Status: Running, Points: 14
• C. Hocevar – Chevrolet · #77, Status: Running, Points: 20
• H. Burton – Ford · #21, Status: Running, Points: 14
• K. Grala – Ford · #15, Status: Running, Points: 11
• C. LaJoie – Chevrolet · #7, Status: Running, Points: 10
• J. Bilicki – Ford · #66, Status: Running, Points: 0
• E. Jones – Toyota · #43, Status: Running, Points: 8
• D. Hamlin – Toyota · #11, Status: Running, Points: 8
• A hill – Chevrolet · #33, Status: Running, Points: 0
• C. Briscoe – Ford · #14, Status: Running, Points: 12
• M. Truex, Jr. – Toyota · #19, Status: Running, Points: 10
• R. Preece – Ford · #41, Status: Running, Points: 3
• J. Nemechek – Toyota · #42, Status: Running, Points: 2
• J. Berry – Ford · #4, Status: Running, Points: 1
• C. Bell – Toyota · #20, Status: DNF, Points: 10
• AJ Allmendinger – Chevrolet · #13, Status: DNF, Points: 0
• K. Larson – Chevrolet · #5, Status: DNF, Points: 7
• S. van Gisbergen – Chevrolet · #16, Status: DNF, Points: 0