Bubba Wallace admittedly had a rough start to the 2023 NASCAR season but has really turned it around over the last month. In the last three points races, Wallace has three top-5 finishes and now sits 35 points above the playoff cut-line.
The driver of the No. 23 car for 23XI Racing has come a long way after having five finishes of 20th place or worse through the first seven races. It feels like Wallace is beginning to inch closer to a victory every week but the overall race-winning speed is not present yet.
Wallace has avoided significant issues on the race track since his intentional wreck with Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last season; however, his fiery spirit off the track hasn’t died down a bit.
Related: Bubba Wallace thinks NASCAR should change a controversial rule in 2023
Aric Almirola, Bubba Wallace discuss their interaction on pit road during Coca-Cola 600 rain delay
Aric Almirola didn’t expect to be racing in the 2023 Coca-Cola 600 at this point last season. Almirola announced before the 2022 season that he would retire from the NASCAR Cup Series; however, those plans changed after Stewart-Haas Racing wanted him to return.
Despite his return, the driver of the No. 10 car has not been running up to expectations. Almirola has one top-10 finish and a 22.9 average finishing position through 14 races. He currently sits 26th in the point standings as Stewart-Haas Racing continues to struggle.
Despite the struggles and previous retirement announcement, Almirola still has his competitive spirit and that was on display during the Coca-Cola 600. During a rain delay on Monday afternoon, Almirola and Wallace confronted each other on pit road.
It ended with Almirola shoving Wallace and a NASCAR official broke up the two drivers. It was unknown at the time why they had that exchange on pit road but Almirola talked about the incidents on and off the track after the event was over.
“Just early in the race, I felt like I gave (Bubba Wallace) a lot of room. We were racing, and I felt like I was running him pretty clean, and I felt like he was racing me really dirty. I let him go and then he shot me the bird, so I just went to go ask him why he shot me the bird. And then he started mouthing off and cussing at me, and I just told him I wasn’t gonna have that.”
Aric Almirola on Bubba Wallace after the Coca-Cola 600
Almirola is not the type of driver to be involved in fiery exchanges on pit road but he obviously did not like the way Wallace was handling the situation. Meanwhile, the driver of the No. 23 car did not appreciate the way Almirola was racing him.
After Almirola gave his comments on the situation, Wallace was asked about the incident and didn’t want to go into much detail. However, he did throw in a jab at the Stewart-Haas Racing driver and didn’t mention it again.
“Yeah, passionate man. We were racing hard in the second stage and we finished fourth so it was a good day…I don’t know, we were trying to figure out how to finish fourth and we did it…When you walk around with two faces, that’s what you get.”
Bubba Wallace on Aric Almirola after the Coca-Cola 600
It appears Wallace is not too happy with Almirola but a fourth-place finish does help squash those hard feelings. Meanwhile, Almirola finished in 25th place and did not have the desired end to his 600 miles.
The two drivers will keep racing each other hard moving forward and it will be interesting to see how the situation develops. NASCAR is better off when drivers are a little angry at each other as it provides entertaining on-track battles.
In the meantime, whether you are watching it live or looking for how to watch NASCAR on TV or another streaming platform, Sportsnaut has you covered for the upcoming weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway!