Bubba Wallace Reaction to $50,000 NASCAR Fine Surprises Reporters

• NASCAR Cup driver Bubba Wallace said NASCAR champion and Fox Sports analyst Kevin Harvick helped him deal with the situation.

• “I’ve now realized they’re (NASCAR) not going to really emphasize on what started it. They emphasize on what finished it,” Wallace said.

• Wallace’s attitude in Pocono Raceway’s media center Saturday surprised reporters.

Bubba Wallace says the $50,000 fine NASCAR assessed him for hitting Alex Bowman’s car on the cool-down lap of the Chicago Street Course race wouldn’t be appealed and described it as the “best thing that happened to me.”

It was “an eye-opening experience,” Wallace said.

Wallace said NASCAR champion and Fox Sports analyst Kevin Harvick helped him deal with the situation when he was at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Summer Shootout racing Legends cars with Harvick and his son, Keelan.

“Harvick said it could be worse,” the 30-year-old Wallace said. “It could be points. It could be a week off.

“He (Harvick) told me to show up with a smile on my face and accept it. He told me … to show up and be the fun-loving guy that I am throughout the week. I think that has been one of the most important things (he) told me, that people don’t see who I actually am on Sundays.”

NASCAR fined Wallace $50,000 after he hit race winner Alex Bowman on the event’s cool-down lap in retaliation for an early race incident that removed the 23XI Racing driver from victory contention. The incident occurred in the rain on lap 25. Bowman said he was focused on trying to get his car’s windshield wiper working, missed the corner, locked up all four wheels and slid into Wallace, who described the event as “our best road course race ever.” Bowman admitted he ruined Wallace’s day. Both men have texted each other since the race and Wallace said, “We’re good.”

Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president for competition, noted Wallace hit Bowman hard enough on the cool-down lap to pick the right front off the ground and cause the car’s left side to hit the wall.

Wallace says when a driver is having a good run and then something occurs to rob that person of a good finish “you feel some type of entitlement to show your frustration.”

“Did I time it wrong? Sure, 100%,” Wallace said. “It’s when his window net was down, and his seatbelts were off. Not an ideal situation. It’s the guy you’re racing with in the points, and then he goes on to win the race. It’s like icing on the cake. It’s just three or four slaps in the face. I’m a passionate guy and I let my frustration get the best of me.”

Wallace, who finished 13th at Chicago, admitted he didn’t agree with the penalty.

“I’ve now realized they’re (NASCAR) not going to really emphasize on what started it. They emphasize on what finished it,” Wallace said. “I try not to start too much shit, but I was raised to end it. I blame my dad. He is an eye-for-an-eye guy. He’s all about being fair. You punch me in the face, I punch you in the face. Then we shake hands after; we’re even. It only matters about the second punch. It’s kind of bullshit, but it is what it is. So, you’ve got to accept it and move on. Honestly, I’ve been at peace this week.”

Wallace’s attitude in Pocono Raceway’s media center Saturday surprised reporters. He even admitted his public relations team was probably concerned because they didn’t know what he would say. It was then that Wallace admitted he had been “miserable for years, walking around with a persona that I’m not proud of.”

“I need to apologize to a lot of people that are close to me,” Wallace said. “My apologies (to my wife) because I wasn’t the best husband. I made her feel like she had to walk on eggshells after bad races.

“The last four years I’ve been miserable just trying to walk around like everything’s OK. Not from a mental standpoint. My mental has been in check, but just trying to carry this persona … don’t bother me right now, I’m too busy. Then when one thing goes wrong, the whole thing crumbles. So, I came into this weekend with a smile on my face and wanting to have fun.”