Bubba Wallace Got Wrecked And Took His Bumper To The Hauler Of The Car That Wrecked Him

NASCAR’s Cup Series headed to Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday night for its All-Star Race, and before the festivities got underway they had the All-Star Open, where three drivers had the chance to race their way into the 20-car field for the main event and race for the $1 million prize — with another driver earning their way in with a fan vote.

Among those looking to race their way into the All-Star Race was Bubba Wallace, but early on he got into it with Michael McDowell in the No. 34 car. The two were bumping and shoving, as they’re wont to do at Bristol, but after Wallace got by McDowell, the 34 turned down into the 43’s right rear quarterpanel and sent Wallace spinning into the wall, ending his night.

Wallace was, let’s just say, less than thrilled by this maneuver and made sure to make those feelings known in his interview after being released from the infield care center, calling McDowell “a joke” as he watched a replay of the wreck.

Bubba wasn’t done with that little post-race promo, either, as he went back to the garage to check out his crumpled up Chevy. Wallace decided to make sure McDowell knew all about how he was feeling by taking his bumper that had fallen off in the wreck and carrying it over to the 34 hauler, where he’d leave it as a reminder to McDowell of what he did.

Wallace has been the most talked about driver in NASCAR for the last month-plus, as he’s the sport’s lone Black driver and has used his voice to amplify the Black Lives Matter movement and enact change in NASCAR. In a sport that has long been anything but progressive, that’s ruffled plenty of feathers among the fan base, but ironically, Wallace might be the closest thing to the old school drivers that group loved on the track and off of it, in terms of wearing his heart on his sleeve (remember when he rage quit an iRacing event?) and never being afraid to tell other drivers how he feels about them.