What Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola said after their shoving incident at Coca-Cola 600
Bubba Wallace wasn’t surprised about the shove he received from Aric Almirola on Monday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
A fan recorded video of an incident between the two drivers when they got out of their cars during a rain delay at the Coca-Cola 600.
The video, which was posted on social media and aired by FOX Sports, showed the two drivers getting in each other’s faces before Almirola shoved Wallace. The incident was quickly broken up by a NASCAR official on pit road.
“When you walk around with two faces, that is what you get,” Wallace explained when he met with reporters following his fourth-place finish in the race.
Wallace went on to say that the two drivers were just battling hard for position.
“Just passionate, racing hard in the second stage and we finished fourth so it was a good day,” Wallace said.
Replays during the early portion of the 600-mile race showed the two drivers making contact on a couple of occasions. Almriola said that Wallace gave him the middle finger during the race, which helped lead to the two divers’ confrontation.
“Early in the race, I feel like I was giving Bubba a lot of room when we were racing around each other. And when he got by me, he shot me the bird,” Almirola said during an interview on FOX Sports. “So, I went to ask him why he shot me the bird. He started mouthing off and cussing at me. I told him I wasn’t going to have that.
“Kind of disappointed and that is him. I know that.”
Wallace finished second last week in the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. After that race, he was spotted raising a middle finger during a post-race interview with FOX Sports’ Jamie Little.
Incidents aside, Wallace and his No. 23 team seem to have gotten stronger during recent weeks. He also finished fourth at Kansas and fifth at Darlington earlier this month.
“I have all the confidence in the world in this team and what they can do,” Wallace said.
This story was originally published May 29, 2023 at 10:56 PM with the headline "What Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola said after their shoving incident at Coca-Cola 600."
