Bubba Wallace furious with his pit crew over tire issue
Mar 20, 2022; Hampton, Georgia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace during the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Bubba Wallace was furious with his pit crew during Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Wallace was running sixth early in the twice weather-delayed race. He was instructed by crew chief Bootie Barker to pit to address a loose tire and became upset.
Bubba Wallace crew apparently left a wheel loose, Bootie Barker yelled at him to "stop, stop, stop," so Wallace stopped and got hit from behind. Now he has to come back to pit road.
Sounds like yet another costly blunder for the No. 23 pit crew.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 26, 2022
Barker told Wallace “stop, stop, stop” over the radio, which led Wallace to stop and get hit from behind by Tyler Reddick.
Pain for Tyler Reddick as Bubba Wallace has a loose wheel right in front of him, Reddick hits him and has to make another stop#NASCAR #Ally400 @AlwaysRaceDay pic.twitter.com/2X817f4CsM
— Mr Matthew CFB 🇺🇦 (@MrMatthewCFB) June 26, 2022
After the stop to fix the loose tire, Wallace went off on Barker, who was trying to reassure him.
#NASCAR … 23 radio after 2nd setop
CC Bootie Barker trying to reassure Bubba
Bubba: "Leave me the —- alone. Don't talk to me the whole —- race.
Bootie: "We're not out of it. I know you are pissed and you deserve to be."
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) June 26, 2022
“Leave me the f— alone. Don’t talk to me the whole f—ing race,” Wallace said over the radio.
Wallace ended up finishing 12th in the race.
If Wallace was unpleasant towards his crew, it’s probably because his crew has had reoccuring issues throughout the season. Barker gave Wallace some bad advice during the Coca Cola 600 last month. Wallace’s pit crew was penalized twice during the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas. And of course Barker and other crew members were suspended four races after a wheel came off Wallace’s No. 23 car during the Circuit of the Americas in March. Are you noticing a trend?
