Why NASCAR Fined Bubba Wallace and Not Chase Elliott at Chicago

• Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott both appeared to take shots at rivals during the cool-down lap this past Sunday on the streets of Chicago.

• Wallace was fined $50,000 for bumping Alex Bowman, while Elliott was cleared of all charges.

• Some fans wondered why former champion Elliott wasn’t similarly penalized for taking a swipe at Daniel Suarez on the same cool-down lap.

Hardly anyone within the NASCAR community was surprised when officials fined Bubba Wallace $50,000 for intentionally “door-slamming” winner Alex Bowman following last weekend’s rain- and darkness-shortened Grant Park 175 on the Chicago Street Course.

Bowman had lowered his window net and loosened his belts on the cool-down lap, even as Wallace charged forward and turned hard-left into Bowman’s right-side door. The contact knocked the winning No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet into the wall hard enough to briefly lift its right-front tire off the pavement.

Wallace was upset over contact with Bowman very early in the race. Bowman quickly and repeatedly accepted blame for the in-race incident, which came while the street course was damp and a light rain was falling. “It was plenty deserved and I’d be mad, too,” he said afterward. “I messed up and was trying to get my windshield wiper on. I missed a corner and ruined their whole day. I hate that it happened and I’m embarrassed. He barely hit me; I’d be mad, too.”

The penalty was deemed appropriate—maybe even lenient—by many race fans. Most who commented on chat rooms and message boards felt NASCAR should have taken points. As it is, the Hamlin-Jordan 23XI Toyota driver remains just outside the 16-driver, 10-race Playoff field going into Pocono this weekend.

Twelve winners are locked in, leaving four spots available. With six races remaining before the Sept. 8 Playoff-opener near Atlanta, Wallace ranks fifth among winless drivers hoping to make the field.

What About Elliott?

Some fans wondered why former champion Chase Elliott wasn’t similarly penalized for taking a swipe at Daniel Suarez on the same cool-down lap. They were racing on the last lap, hoping for a top-15 finish when each got into the other—Elliott knocking Suarez aside first, then Suarez knocking Elliott aside in the last corner. Suarez ended up 13th and Elliott 21st, and both remain Playoff-eligible based on regular-season victories.

Afterward, they talked on pit road. Elliott seemed upset at how Suarez had raced him on the last lap. Later, he seemed somewhat satisfied after hearing Suarez’s side of the story. They parted without any pushing or shoving, a refreshing change versus what are often post-race “discussions.”

On Thursday, NASCAR senior vice-president for competition and a former Cup and Xfinity driver Elton Sawyer explained why Wallace was fined, but not Elliott. In the end, it came down how hard Wallace had slammed Bowman and how light—if at all—Elliott had gotten into Suarez.

“We didn’t see any evidence with 9/99 (Elliott/Suarez) that would raise to a level of a penalty,” he said. “There was very minor contact if any. The 23 (Wallace) hit the 48 (Bowman) hard enough to pick the right-front up off the ground, plus left-side contact with the wall.”

Message, it seems, delivered. But is anyone listening?