Admission of rules violation costs Wallace

NASCAR fines driver and docks him 50 points

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Bubba Wallace said he wasn’t worried about repercussions for intentionally causing a caution because NASCAR doesn’t do anything about the practice.

NASCAR accepted the dare from Wallace. He was fined $50,000 and docked 50 points Saturday, a day after admitting to an NBC Sports reporter his spin at Texas Motor Speedway was deliberate and other drivers do it all the time.

“Until they do anything, no. I’m not the only one to do it,” he said in a phone video recording.

Wallace was reacting to earlier comments made by championship contender Kyle Larson, who had the outcome of last Sunday’s race altered when Wallace intentionally spun to avoid losing multiple laps for a flat tire. That caution changed the complexion of Larson’s race and dumped him into a huge hole in the standings.

There’s only Sunday’s penultimate event at ISM Raceway outside Phoenix remaining to claim the final two spots in the title-deciding race.

Larson said his Chip Ganassi Racing team had pulled data from Wallace’s car to confirm Larson’s belief it was a deliberate attempt to bring out a caution.

“We looked at Bubba’s data and you can definitely see him swerving, he turns right and then at the same time he turns left and stabs the throttle and spins out. It’s whatever at this point,” Larson said.

NASCAR said Saturday the data was not enough to prove Wallace’s intent and his fine was for the “complete admission of guilt” he made to NBC Sports. NASCAR met with Wallace and his Richard Petty Motorsports team Saturday morning.

“We fully understand NASCAR’s position and expectations of its competitors,” said RPM competition director Philippe Lopez. “NASCAR has a difficult job officiating race events and we do not need to make the task more challenging.”

Kyle Busch on pole

Kyle Busch won the pole Saturday and all eight title contenders qualified in the top 10 for the final race to decide NASCAR’s championship field. Busch turned a lap at 140.116 mph in his

Toyota to earn his first pole of the season.

It puts him one spot ahead of reigning NASCAR champion Joey Logano on the starting grid, and Busch and Logano are the two drivers above the cutline to earn berths in next week’s championship field.

Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick have both already locked themselves into the final four, and six drivers are vying for the final two positions.

Denny Hamlin, the Daytona 500 winner and Busch and Truex’s teammate for Joe Gibbs Racing, qualified third and Truex was fourth.

Kyle Larson was the highest-qualifying Chevrolet at fifth, followed by Chase Elliott and Harvick.

Ryan Blaney was the lowest qualifying playoff driver at 10th.

Larson, Elliott and Blaney likely need to win to advance to the finale at HomesteadMiami Speedway.

Xfinity Series

Justin Allgaier raced to his first victory of the season Saturday at ISM Raceway to advance to the championship finale.

Allgaier will race Christopher Bell, Cole Custer and reigning champion Tyler Reddick for the title Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Only Reddick has a championship.

“We said we needed to come in and win to get to Homestead, and we did that,” Allgaier said.

Allgaier cried as he crossed the finish line, the emotions of a frustrating season. He’d gone 39 races without a win, just a season removed from a five-win campaign.