One of the most talked about incidents in the race involved a pair of non-championship-eligible drivers. Shortly after the re-start following Stage 1, Hendrick Motorsports‘ Kyle Larson and 23XI Racing‘s Bubba Wallace — who won Stage 1 – were racing alongside one another toward the front of the field. On lap 94, Larson‘s No. 5 Chevy got loose and moved up the track, forcing Wallace‘s car into the outside wall.
Wallace‘s No. 45 Toyota bounced down off the wall and then he drove into Larson‘s car, spinning both – with playoff driver Bell getting tagged by Larson‘s spinning Chevy in the aftermath. After Wallace and Larson‘s cars came to rest in the infield, Wallace took his helmet off and marched toward Larson, who was just getting out of his car.
The two exchanged words and Wallace pushed Larson multiple times before walking away.
“You get shoved into the fence deliberately like he [Larson] did trying to force me to lift, the steering was gone,‘‘ Wallace said when asked if he intentionally spun Larson. “He just happened to be there.
“Hate it for our team. Super fast car. Larson wanted to make a three-wide dive bomb but never cleared me and I don‘t lift. I know I‘m kinda new running at the front, but I don‘t lift, was never in a spot to lift and he never lifted either. Now we‘re junk. Just piss poor move on his execution.
“He knows what he did was wrong. He never cleared me and just hate it for my team.‘‘
For his part, Larson said he realized he got into Wallace and wasn‘t entirely surprised by Wallace‘s aggression afterward. However, Larson said, he didn‘t hit Wallace intentionally.
“I knew he was going to retaliate,‘‘ Larson said. “He had reason to be mad but his race wasn‘t over until he retaliated. It is what it is. Just aggression turned into frustration and he retaliated.”
“I know he‘s probably still upset but I‘m sure with everything going on he‘ll know he made a mistake in the retaliation part and I‘m sure he‘ll think twice about it next time,‘‘ Larson added. “I saw him walking over [toward me] so I figured he‘d do something. He had every right to be upset and I‘d rather him do that [push me] than tear up our cars in a dangerous manner.‘‘
