After crossing the finish line on Sunday at the Atlanta Circuit, Bubba Wallace thought he had achieved a much-needed second place in his race for qualification for the Championship Chase.
However, NASCAR penalized him, sending car number 23 to the last position of the lap led (29th) for crossing the ‘out of bounds’ line to improve his position. A violation with which he expressed strong disagreement after the race.
The maneuver in question occurred on the last lap when Wallace made a three-car move against leaders Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar down the back straight. In the moments following the race, NASCAR issued the penalty.
“They say I improved my position, which I did not,” stated Wallace. “I stayed in third place and went into the brake to make sure I wasn’t passing. When I turned, I thought: ‘I’m going to hurt myself’ and I braked, maintaining control, and still found myself side by side. This maneuver should have improved my position, but it didn’t because I knew it wasn’t right, my car wasn’t prepared to do it.”
“We will see what we can do, but I did not improve my position. I remained in third place from the entry of turn 3 to 50 yards from the finish,” he concluded.
Section 8.3.2 of NASCAR’s rulebook is key in this situation. “If NASCAR determines that a vehicle is driving beneath the double painted lines to improve its position, it will be subject to disqualification. If NASCAR determines that a vehicle forces another vehicle below the double lines trying to improve its position, that vehicle may be disqualified.”
Wallace and his team, 23XI Racing, could have filed an immediate petition but this is different from an appeal. After the race, the Cup Series director, Brad Moran, indicated that an appeal could not be made and that the rulebook clearly explained the violation.
The penalty resulted in a 27-point change for Wallace, who had entered the race with a 77-point lead and finished with a 55-point lead. He would have been 82 points above the cut line without the penalty.
“This is a big deal for us,” stated Wallace. “All the people who are leading us in points will say: ‘Oh, the 23.’ They see it, and they get on guard. The situation we are in is not safe. We need to determine what we need to do in the future because, again, I did not improve my position.”
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
