(Joshua Paladino, Headline USA) NASCAR suspended black driver Bubba Wallace for this upcoming weekend’s race after he crashed into a competitor, Kyle Larson,and then exited his vehicle and assaulted him, Whiskey Riff reported.
In 2020, Wallace proclaimed himself the victim of a hate crime, alleging that a racist tied a noose in his garage at Talladega Superspeedway to intimidate him.
He felt “incredibly saddened” by the “heinous” act, which caused him no harm and had no basis in fact, but he had no problem wrecking Larson and then attacking him.
On the 94th lap at the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400, Larson tapped Wallace around the fourth turn, then Wallace pushed off the wall and hit Larson’s vehicle, causing him to veer toward the grass.
Kyle Larson hits Bubba Wallace.
Wallace spins him out, and #NASCARPlayoffs driver Christopher Bell is involved! pic.twitter.com/TlxcEV5T6q
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) October 16, 2022
At that point, Wallace seemed to have control of his vehicle, but he pursued Larson to the track’s inner edge and hit his rear end. They both spun out and ended their days.
Intent on pursuing the conflict, Wallace came out from his car with hands raised and lunged at Larson. Wallace repeatedly shoved him.
Larson kept a hand out to distance himself from Wallace and walked away. Wallace accused Larson of starting the conflict with a “piss poor move on his execution.”
“When you get shoved into the fence, deliberately like he did, trying to force me to lift, steering is gone,” he said. “Larson wanted to make a three-wide divebomb, never cleared me.”
After NASCAR suspended him, Wallace apologized.
“I want to apologize for my actions on Sunday following the on-track incident with Kyle Larson and the No. 5 car,” he said. “I compete with immense passion, and with passion at times comes frustration.”
