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Bubba Wallace declined to congratulate Austin Dillon for Richmond win after 'BS' last-lap wrecks

Stephen Samraby:Steve Samra•08/12/24•

SamraSource

Austin Dillon | Bubba Wallace
Austin Dillon (© Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports) | Bubba Wallace (© Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports)

Austin Dillon felt like he had to do everything he could to win at Richmond, including wrecking Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap, but Bubba Wallace didn’t shy away from calling him out after the race.

It’s not simply sour grapes, as the win changed Wallace’s position in the points standings. He’s now firmly on the bubble with Dillon shaking things up on Sunday. Still, Wallace is calling it like he sees it, not willing to mince words with the No. 3 wheelman.

The 23XI Racing driver opted to call Dillon’s move “BS” while speaking with the media, and changed his mind about congratulating him after seeing what he did to his fellow competitors.

“Whatever it takes to win, I guess,” Wallace said, regarding his thoughts on Dillon’s last-lap decisions, which shook-up Wallace’s position in the playoffs, via Peter Stratta of ABC45 WXLV. “We’re in, but I mean, hey, he deserved it fair and square. That’s the hard thing. I was ready to man up, go shake his hand, congrats. Can’t do that now. That was kind of BS. It is what it is. We’ve got to worry about our own races for the next three weeks.

“Proud of this team for fighting and executing all day. Wasn’t our best day, for sure, but all in all, we ended up on the good side. Shows how tough the Cup Series is. Ross [Chastain] finished right on my bumper, so it’s going to be a dog fight.”

Alas, Wallace’s feelings are clear, but Dillon isn’t trying to sugarcoat anything, at least. He straight up said he was going to do all he could to get his first win of 2024, and if that included wrecking some cars at the finish line, it was on the agenda.

“I was just trying to get to him,” Dillon said about wrecking Logano, per Matt Weaver of Sportsnaut. “I went into Turn 3 in fifth gear and drove in, tried to get him loose and got him off the track. I got the car downshifted and the car actually turned pretty good when I did that. 

“And then when I was coming back, the 11 (Hamlin) was coming, and that was kind of a reaction. The 22 (Logano) was trying to get him loose. But the 11 was more of a reaction, and I wasn’t lifting at that point because I was more looking at where the 22 was. When the 11 came across it was just a reaction.”

Regardless, Bubba Wallace will be looking to simply control what he can control over the next couple of weeks. At the moment, he’s only three points above the cut line for the playoffs, but the No. 23 has been running well. Perhaps a trip to Victory Lane is in his future.