Bubba Wallace crossed the finish line less than half a car's length away from Ryan Blaney in Atlanta, but in the lead-up to the finish, Wallace found himself outside the yellow line, which led to a penalty. 

Wallace ended up with a 29th-place classification and a massive 27-point swing to what he would have gotten with a 2nd-place finish. 

The 23XI Toyota driver spoke to a group of pressers post-race and was unhappy about the penalty, saying his team would appeal it. 

NASCAR quoted Wallace as saying that the rules  “say advancing your position, which I did not do. I stayed third, and I  was all over the brakes to make sure I did not advance. As soon as I turned, I was like, ‘I am going to wreck.’ I got on the brakes, kept it underneath me and still ended up side-by-side.”

While replays show that Wallace stayed third after crossing the yellow line and getting back, from there, he pushed Ryan Blaney into the lead ahead of Spire’s Carson Hocevar, who could have gone on to win the race if it wasn’t for that little nudge. 

Wallace added further, “That move should have propelled us to the lead, and it didn't because I knew it was wrong because my car did not like that move. We will see what we can do, but I did not advance my position. I stayed third from the entry to three, all the way until 50 yards away.

The 23XI driver got a helping hand from Toyota teammate JGR’s Ty Gibbs, who pushed Wallace into second. But all to no avail, as Wallace ended up in the NASCAR Hauler moments later. 

The rule and how it works against Bubba Wallace

NASCAR’s article included a portion of the rulebook that Wallace violated. 

Wallace was penalized under Section 8.7.2.A of the NASCAR Rule, which states, “Passing below the double painted lines to advance position will result in a black flag.”

Before leaving the media and heading to the 23XI hauler, Wallace said that the team would be looking into it and checking the SMT to try to appeal the penalty. 

Wallace went to the NASCAR hauler for a 31-minute-long meeting along with his crew chief Charles Denike and 23XI Racing’s director of competition Dave Rogers. 

According to Motorsport, following the race, NASCAR Cup Series MD Brad Moran said that the penalty could not be appealed and the infractions by Wallace were clearly spelled out in the rule book. 

Wallace’s hopes for an appeal came crashing down quickly as he exited the NASCAR hauler and said, “A penalty is a penalty.”

Unfortunately for Wallace, the 27 points he missed out on may end up being a season-defining loss of points, given he sits just 47 points above the cutoff line for the Chase with just 6 races left in the regular season. 

Do you think Wallace can stay above the Chase cutoff mark? Let us know.

Read more at Daytona Racing Digest.

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason