CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR has suspended Bubba Wallace for one race after crashing and shoving Kyle Larson during the Las Vegas race on Sunday.
Wallace violated Sections 4.3.A and 4.4.C & E of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct, according to the league, for wrecking Larson on lap 94 of the South Point 400 and the subsequent shoving he gave Larson when they exited their cars. This suspension will force Wallace to miss the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Larson made a move that forced Wallace to brush the wall coming out of turn 4. In retaliation, Wallace sideswiped Larson and wrecked out both cars, taking out Christopher Bell in the process.
After exiting his car, Wallace headed toward Larson and began repeatedly shoving him. Larson did not respond physically to Wallace and tried to walk away from the incident. The situation was finally broken up when a NASCAR official intervened.
“Larson wanted to make a three-wide dive bomb and never cleared me. I don’t lift,” said Wallace to the NBC Sports crew after the wreck. “[Larson] knows what he did was wrong.”
“It didn’t surprise me. I made an aggressive move,” said Larson. “He had a reason to be mad but his race wasn’t over until he retaliated. With everything that’s going on with head injuries, it’s probably not the right thing to do, but we’ve all done it.”
The crash took out both Larson and Wallace, who finished 35th and 36th, respectively.
Wallace issued a statement the day after the crash apologizing for his actions.
“I want to apologize for my actions on Sunday following the on-track incident with Kyle Larson and the No. 5 car,” wrote Wallace. “My behavior does not align with the core values that are shared by 23XI Racing and our partners, who have played a crucial role in my incredible journey to the top of this great sport.”
Wallace is the first Cup Series driver to be suspended since Matt Kenseth was parked for two races after wrecking Joey Logano at Martinsville in 2015. This season, NASCAR penalized William Byron for spinning Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs for hitting Ty Dillon on pit road at Texas, Cole Custer for attempting to help out a teammate at the Charlotte Roval, and numerous teams for equipment violations but no drivers had been suspended up to this point.
Wallace has won two races in his NASCAR Cup Series career. Larson has 18 race victories and captured the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship.