Motorsport
VIDEO: Clash during the race! Collision between Wallace and Larson on the Las Vegas track escalated into a conflict
Racers in the American NASCAR series don’t give each other anything. On the oval tracks, the drivers have nowhere to hide and there are numerous clashes during wheel-to-wheel battles at speeds reaching 300 km/h. Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson battled hard in Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Drivers in the American NASCAR series don’t give each other anything. On the oval tracks, the drivers have nowhere to hide and there are numerous clashes during wheel-to-wheel battles at speeds reaching 300 km/h. Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson battled hard in Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, their confrontation resulted in a double collision, after which the pair of Americans even had a scuffle as soon as they got out of their cars!
This year’s NASCAR season is slowly but surely coming to a close. The first of three races that will decide the four drivers who will battle it out for the championship took place in Las Vegas. Joey Logano won the South Point 400 in a breathtaking finish.
However, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson drew the attention of the crowd while the race was still in progress. In the second race, or rather that second segment, and thus the 94th lap of 267, the pair drove side-by-side through the final turn.
Larson drove Wallace toward the outside wall, which Wallace crashed into, but that was also due to his own mistake of not steering his car properly.
Larson subsequently pulled to the inside of the oval, whereupon the twenty-nine-year-old American driver interpreted his opponent’s manoeuvre as unsporting and crashed into him in return.
His reaction to the whole situation can be described as overreaction. Both subsequently spun, resulting in a yellow.
Fortunately, both Wallace and Larson suffered no injuries. The former, however, subsequently headed straight for his opponent. Unexpectedly, and to the amazement of all onlookers, the 23XI Racing driver hit Larson, who was clearly not interested in fighting Wallace.
Statements from both players
The two-time NASCAR race winner defended himself after the collision. Larson didn’t let me go. Just a bad move on his part,” Wallace said in an interview with NBC Sports.
Larson subsequently admitted that some of the blame lies with him and doesn’t blame Wallace’s frustration. “I tried to give him space and I ended up not giving him space. I was trying to keep the car under control and I got him into the wall. He had reason to be angry. I wasn ‘t going to defend myself, so I think it just looked bad on his part.“
Sources: NASCAR, NBC Sports
