{"id":100743,"date":"2022-10-18T15:09:06","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T15:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/column-wallace-ignored-his-own-mantra-in-larson-conflict\/"},"modified":"2022-10-18T15:09:06","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T15:09:06","slug":"column-wallace-ignored-his-own-mantra-in-larson-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/column-wallace-ignored-his-own-mantra-in-larson-conflict\/","title":{"rendered":"Column: Wallace ignored his own mantra in Larson conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"
LAS VEGAS (AP) \u2014 Bubba Wallace adopted the mantra of \u201cPeace. love. Understanding.\u201d to push back against the negativity and vitriol so often hurled his way. <\/p>\n
There was nothing peaceful or understanding about Wallace’s skirmish with Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway over the weekend. Wallace appeared to deliberately crash the reigning NASCAR champion<\/a> in a dangerous retaliatory move Sunday and then he tried to fight Larson.<\/a><\/p>\n Now NASCAR is in a no-win situation as it decides whether Wallace was out of line. <\/p>\n No penalty? That will be classified as favoritism and maybe even fear of punishing the star of Michael Jordan’s race teamwho remains the only Black driver at the top level of the sport.<\/p>\n Mild punishment? Cue a mind-numbing debate over precedent.<\/p>\n A suspension? That would be a strong statement against what NASCAR already considers taboo \u2014 drivers using their cars as weapons \u2014 though a driver suspension in the final three weeks of the season would be another massive headache for a sanctioning body currently putting out fires in every corner. <\/p>\n Wallace apologized Monday, saying his behavior \u201cdoes not align with the core values \u200b\u200bthat are shared by 23XI Racing and our partners.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI compete with immense passion, and with passion at times comes frustration,\u201d Wallace posted on social media. \u201cUpon reflecting, I should have represented our partners and core team values \u200b\u200bbetter than I did by letting my frustrations follow me outside of the car. You live and you learn, and I intend to learn from this.\u201d <\/p>\n Wallace is one of NASCAR’s most polarizing drivers, and his successful 2020 push for NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag at its races deeply divided fans. <\/p>\n The false narrative that Wallace faked a hate crime \u2014 after a garage pull in his garage stall at Talladega was found to be fashioned as a noose \u2014 still circulates among some fans, though he never saw it and even the FBI categorized it as a noose. <\/p>\n