Bubba just can’t catch a break…
The NASCAR Cup Series was in Darlington for their annual “Throwback Weekend” during yesterday’s Goodyear 400, and for the most part the race was kind of a snoozer. William Byron dominated, leading the first 243 laps until he had to come to pit road for a green flag stop and got shuffled back behind Tyler Reddick with just a handful of laps to go.
But in the closing laps, it looked to be Ryan Blaney who was going to steal the win with an incredible drive through the field.
Blaney was by far the fastest car on the track, coming out in 14th after the pit cycle and easily making his way through the field thanks to fresher tires. The #12 Team Penske Ford was nearly 12 seconds behind Reddick with just 30 laps to go, but with 5 to go he managed to take the lead and drive away from the #45 23XI Toyota.
But unfortunately, it wasn’t Blaney’s day. As the field came off of turn 2 with four laps to go, Reddick got into the wall after being passed for the lead. Kyle Larson was over 150 laps down from a wreck early in the race, but when Reddick got into the wall he checked up and ended up getting spun from behind by Bubba Wallace, who had no way to avoid the suddenly-braking Larson.
Ryan Blaney runs down and passes Tyler Reddick for the lead with five to go…And then Kyle Larson crashes off Turn 2 to bring the caution out. pic.twitter.com/o17e58Mpiq
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) April 6, 2025
The wreck ended up bringing out a caution, everybody came to pit road for tires, and Denny Hamlin ended up coming out of the pits with the lead and hanging on for his second straight win.
And after the race, there were plenty of NASCAR fans who were blaming…Bubba Wallace for costing Blaney the win, with many claiming he was attempting to help his 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick after he got passed for the lead.
Now, looking at the replays it seems pretty clear that Bubba had nowhere to go when Larson suddenly brake checked him after Reddick got into the fence. Larson clearly slammed on the brakes hard, probably a lot harder than he needed to, and Bubba got into the back of him before he had time to react.
Ride with the Nos. 5 and 23. https://t.co/UIkXwiOu2F pic.twitter.com/UOZCsr3dVj
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 6, 2025
In fact, the data even shows Larson braking right before getting hit, in a spot where he hadn’t braked the lap before:
For those saying Bubba Wallace intentionally wrecked Kyle Larson. Data shows that Larson hit the brakes right before contact with Wallace. The previous lap Larson didn't use brake there. Blue is current lap, yellow is previous pic.twitter.com/8ZeMYFwct4
— Auto Racing Analytics (@AR_Analytics) April 6, 2025
But you know how it goes with anything Bubba Wallace does. He’s got plenty of haters who are quick to blame him for anything he does, whether it’s his fault or not, and this time was no different, with plenty of people taking to social media to blame Bubba for costing Blaney the win:
so bubba dumped him? why didn’t the broadcast say anything
— Madison Mallards (@MadisonMallards) April 6, 2025
needs to be investigated but we all know when MJ is in attendance his team can do what every they want.
— Pross (@TheHandler28) April 7, 2025
So yeah there’s manipulation of the race right there. But you guys won’t do a thing about it.
— Yoshi 🇨🇦 (@yoshiboost) April 6, 2025
BUBBA WALLACE WRECKS LARSON TO TRY AND HELP REDDICK. SHOULD BE AN AUTOMATIC BLANEY WIN. THAT IS CHEAP, DIRTY RACING.
— truth doctor (@truthdoctor69) April 6, 2025
Fuck Bubba Wallace and all Jordan’s team. You know damn well be wrecked Larson on purpose cause Blaney took the lead over his teammate.
— CHRIBIZZLE (@caboose005) April 6, 2025
Blaney even joked about the moment with 23XI team owner Michael Jordan after the race, but it seems like even he knew Bubba wasn’t at fault for the wreck:
“Hey, if your boy didn’t spin out Larson…”
“Did he spin out Larson?” pic.twitter.com/PFx5f107Ac
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) April 6, 2025
And after the race, Bubba came up and spoke to Blaney on pit road, though we don’t know what was said between the two:
.@BubbaWallace came and whispered something in the ear of @Blaney post-race.
When asked about it, Blaney smiled and said, “secret discussions man.” #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/k2NC2CYZKA
— Noah Lewis (@Noah_Lewis1) April 6, 2025
Blaney and Bubba are good friends, so I’m sure there’s no hard feelings between the two – especially after Blaney sees the replay and realizes that Bubba wasn’t at fault in the wreck.
But regardless, any time Bubba Wallace is involved, you knows fans online are going to be quick to express their opinion, even like here when he did nothing wrong.
