Bubba vs. Bowman cools down for now
DOVER, Del. — Bubba Wallace has few regrets over his splash-and-go incident with fellow driver Alex Bowman.
Wallace met with NASCAR officials on Thursday in the wake of tossing his drink at Bowman after last Sunday’s Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Wallace said his frustration stemmed from previous run-ins with Bowman on the track and again early in the race on the combination road-andoval course at Charlotte.
The 25-year-old Wallace, who is in his second full-time season driving the iconic No. 43 Chevrolet for Richard Petty Motorsports, was not punished.
“I’d been run over multiple times by that car, and I’d had enough,” Wallace said Saturday at Dover International Speedway, the site of today’s race that will open the second round of the playoffs.
Bowman desperately tried to avoid elimination from last weekend, with the Roval 400 the final race before the field was cut from 16 championship-eligible drivers to 12. The 26-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver crashed his fast car in the closing minute of the final practice session, spun on the opening lap of the race and deliberately spun Wallace because he didn’t like the RPM driver flipping him the bird.
On a day with scorching temperatures, Bowman climbed from his car after the race and slumped to the ground, dehydrated and overcome by the heat. Wallace found him sitting next to his car, surrounded by NASCAR’s medical director and former Hendrick driver Jeff Gordon, and angrily splashed liquid in Bowman’s face after a brief verbal exchange. Gordon, the four-time Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer, and the medical director were splashed, too.
“I regret getting the medical staff, Jeff Gordon (and others), getting them involved, getting them soaked,” Wallace said.
Wallace said he texted Gordon hours after the incident and eventually the other bystanders.
“If he was just sitting down trying to catch his breath and no one was around, he would have been OK,” Wallace said. “I agree with the fans. Bringing Jeff Gordon (and others) involved, that’s where we crossed the line there. It could have been handled at a different time. Emotions run high.”
Bowman finished second in the race to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
“I understand it. People are mad inside and outside the race car,” Bowman said. “I didn’t think it was as big of deal as everybody made it out to be.”
Bowman said he hasn’t talked with Wallace about the incident and downplayed any potential for retaliation on the track, but it was good for a laugh at Dover: Go Fas Racing driver Corey LaJoie playfully tossed water on Bowman during a media session.
Hamlin wins pole
Denny Hamlin turned a lap of 166.984 mph during Cup Series qualifying Saturday at Dover to start the second round of the playoffs on the pole.
Hamlin will lead the field to green in his 500th career start on the top series. The twotime Daytona 500 winner has four wins this season in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota and remains a top contender to win his first NASCAR championship.
Title-eligible drivers took up most of the top 10: Kyle Larson joins Hamlin on the front row, while Martin Truex Jr. will start third, Kevin Harvick fourth, Chase Elliott fifth, William Byron sixth and Ryan Blaney 10th. The other remaining playoff drivers are 2018 series champion Joey Logano, who will start 14th, Brad Keselowski (16th), Clint Bowyer (17th) and Kyle Busch (17th).
Of Hamlin’s 35 career victories in Cup Series competition, none have come at Dover, though he finished second at the one-mile concrete oval last fall.
“Even though I’ve had past stumbles here, and it hasn’t technically been my best race track, we know we are fully capable of winning at any race track,” Hamlin said. “It doesn’t matter what the past history is.”