Bubba Wallace has set the record straight on his heated exchange with Christopher Bell after last weekend's NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen—and it turns out the internet had it all wrong.
"You all had it figured out, but every single one of y'all motherfuckers were wrong," Wallace said with a laugh during a media availability at Dover International Speedway on Friday, clearing the air on what really went down.
The 23XI Racing driver, who's known for his complicated relationship with road courses, was fighting for a top-10 finish when John Hunter Nemechek spun him out with just eight laps remaining. Wallace ultimately crossed the line in 29th place, a bitter pill after a day that had been clicking on all fronts.
"I got wiped out by the 42," Wallace explained. "We were in potential for a top-10, top-12 day. I got wiped out following (Tyler Reddick), and when I put so much freaking effort into becoming a better road course racer… I joke with you guys that I suck and I don't give a damn about road courses; I really do. It's a competitive nature and I push hard every time we get into the car and at that point in the race, everything was clicking."
Frustration boiled over, and Wallace admitted he went into full attack mode for the remainder of the race, racing aggressively against anyone in his path—including teammate Riley Herbst and Toyota stablemate Christopher Bell.
"When that happens, you see freaking red and you don't care who is out there," Wallace said. "You don't care if your wife and kids are out on the racetrack, you are going to race the dog shit out of them because you had everything ripped away from you."
Wallace acknowledged that Bell had no context for his aggressive driving, which led to the animated conversation on pit road that made headlines. But for Wallace, it was simply a matter of raw emotion in the heat of the moment.
"(Herbst) was in that mix, I raced the shit out of him. (Bell) was in the mix, I raced the shit out of him. Whoever else was in that mix, I didn't care just because my race was ruined 30 seconds beforehand. They have no idea, so I put myself in their shoes. What you see on pit road, C-Bell is pissed that I raced him so hard and that was simply me saying, 'I don't give a damn. I just had my race ruined and so I'm going to race everyone hard. I don't care who it is.'"
It's a reminder that in the high-stakes world of NASCAR, emotions can run as hot as the engines—and sometimes, even teammates get caught in the crossfire.