Aric Almirola has revealed why he got physical with Bubba Wallace during the rain delay at Monday’s Coca-Cola 600.
The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was halted for 31 minutes after a red flag came out for a rain delay on lap 158. During the delay, Fox shared a video that showed Almirola confronting Wallace and shoving his fellow driver on pit road. You can see the clip here.
Almirola discussed the incident after his 16th place finish. He said the two drivers were battling for position early in the race and he felt like he was racing clean, but Wallace gave him the middle finger. Almirola went to confront Wallace about Wallace flipping him the bird, which led to the shove.
“It was early in the race. I felt like I gave him a lot of room and I felt like I was running him pretty clean. I felt like he was racing me really dirty. I let him go and then he shot me the bird,” Almirola said. “I just went to go ask him why he shot me the bird. Then he started mouthing off and cussing at me, and I just told him I wasn’t gonna have that.”
Wallace, who finished 4th, described the altercation as “just being passionate.” He also said he was not surprised by Almirola’s behavior.
There seems to be some bad blood between Almirola and Wallace. Almirola has driven the No. 10 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing for six seasons. Before that, he drove the No. 43 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports. Wallace took over driving the No. 43 full-time in 2018, and he felt like Almirola didn’t exactly give him friendly advice.
It is possible those old issues played a role in what happened on Monday. Either way, it seems safe to assume Almirola and Wallace won’t be grabbing a beer together anytime soon.
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