Alex Bowman navigating the twists and turns of the Chicago Street Course. (Photo Credit: Kevin Bowman | The Podium Finish)
CHICAGO — The Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace saga continued in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course, which saw Wallace and Bowman clashing in the final 10 circuits of the 75-lap race, which ended with Wallace getting the worse of the exchange.
A key In-Season Challenge matchup between old rivals ended in yet another scuffle that dates back nearly a decade between the two drivers, ending with Bowman getting ahead of Wallace, who got the short end of the stick after all the dust settled in downtown Chicago.
After the driver from Tucson, Arizona, tried to advance his position, Wallace slammed into the No. 48 Chevrolet into the wall On multiple occasions with seven laps remaining. He continued to nudge Bowman, who was on fresher tires, into a tight position out of Turn 2 on DuSable Lake Shore Drive. This resulted in the No. 23 Toyota getting spun off Bowman’s front bumper, ultimately finishing in 28th place with a broken toe link, five laps down.
Following the race, which saw Shane van Gisbergen become the first international driver to sweep a NASCAR national series weekend in commanding fashion, the two drivers yet again had words exchanged in the garage area.
Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman had yet another tangle during Sunday’s Grant Park 165. (Photo Credit: Kevin Bowman | The Podium Finish)
“I don’t know, I passed him (Bubba Wallace) clean, or what I thought was clean,” Bowman said post-race. I just followed when the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) passed him. Then he shipped us into (turn) 12; ran us into the fence in (turn) one, and ran us into the fence off of (turn) two. And then we just pin-balled off of each other, and he ended up on the worse side of it, but we’re just trying to go straight off the corner.”
I don’t know why we did that. We just have to move on from it and keep digging. I don’t know what I could have done much differently. I just got into the fence there, and you’re kind of along for the ride. It’s just frustrating.”
Wallace approached the topic with an open mind about the incident, as well as his perspective from aboard his racecar.
You know, late call on the 5 that got us spun,” Wallace said. “I was passing cars, having fun, showing that we keep improving and keep building confidence, we’ll be fine. So hate to see it end that way. It was fun. Fun with the 48 (Alex Bowman). No love lost, all good.”
The two drivers had a confrontation during last year’s street race as well. Wallace was turned sideways by the nose of Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet early in the 2024 event. While Wallace managed to recover and finished in 13th place, Bowman went on to score his eighth career Cup Series win. After the race, Wallace made contact with Bowman’s door during the cooldown lap, which resulted in a hefty $50,000 fine.
With the eighth-place effort, Bowman now advances himself to the third round of the inaugural In-Season Challenge, as he will take on the 32nd seed and underdog of the tournament, Ty Dillon.
He additionally notches his fourth consecutive finish of 11th or better, as well as extending his 39-point cushion above the playoff cutline. Meanwhile, Wallace now sits right on the provisional playoff cutline, just two points ahead of Ryan Preece as the Cup Series takes on yet another road course at Sonoma Raceway next Sunday.
Coverage of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 will be broadcast live on TNT at 3:30 p.m. ET, with radio coverage available through the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
