Bubba Wallace addresses pit road confrontation with Aric Almirola
Sometimes, the track can’t contain all the fireworks during a NASCAR race. Emotions spilled over into pit road during Monday’s running of the Coca-Cola 600, leading to a brief altercation between Bubba Wallace and Aric Almirola.
During a rain delay at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday, Wallace and Almirola exchanged words on pit road before Almirola gave Wallace a shove. At the time, it was unclear what happened between the two drivers.
Following the race, Wallace opened up on what transpired.
“Yeah, we were just frustrated on how we raced each other,” Wallace said, per NBC Sports. “We were in Stage 2 of the Coke 600. I finished fourth and that’s a good day for our team.”
Wallace provided a pretty tame and vague response to the question. Almirola was willing to get a little more specific about what unfolded.
“I felt like I raced him clean and he was racing me dirty. I let him go and then he shot me the bird,” Almirola told Alan Cavanna of Performance Racing Network. “So I went to ask him why he shot the bird and he started mouthing off and cussing me. I wasn’t gonna have that.”
The hard-nosed racing happened just before NASCAR stopped the race due to weather. Contact occurred when Wallace cut in front of Almirola in a multi-car battle. Almirola responded by running Wallace up the track before making contact with the No. 23 Chevrolet.
“Just passion,” Wallace said. “We’re racing hard during the second stage and we finished fourth, so, it was a good day… When you walk around with two faces, that’s what you get.”
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Ryan Blaney wins Coca-Cola 600
The weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway was … long. Inclement weather delayed both the Xfinity Series race and Coca-Cola 600 multiple times, pushing both races to Monday. But it was well worth the wait for Ryan Blaney.
Blaney drove his car to Victory Lane for the first time this season, outlasting the field in a caution-heavy race. It was a huge win for the 29-year-old, and one that helped his standing in the points race.
“Thank you guys so much!” Blaney told his team, per Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. “How about that? Holy cow. Gosh, that feels good. Cannot wait to celebrate with you guys.”
With Monday’s win, Blaney sits at No. 2 in the NASCAR Cup Series points standings. But the driver wasn’t focused on that after the race, he was just happy to take home a checkered flag.
“We just kept working on it all night,” Blaney said. “I didn’t feel great at the end of Stage 3, I was getting pressured by a couple of guys, the team did a great job working on it all night. Got the lead and we stretched it out.”