NASCAR put the brakes on assessing a penalty to driver Bubba Wallace after he made an obscene gesture during an interview on Sunday.
During a Fox Sports interview following Wallace’s second-place finish in the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, on Sunday, the race car driver was seen gesturing with an extended middle finger.
Who was this directed to?? pic.twitter.com/cwPCOGB2nI
— Rubbin is Racing (@rubbinisracing) May 22, 2023
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“It is NASCAR’s understanding he was gesturing to a friend and while inappropriate, it wasn’t done malicious[ly],” NASCAR said after looking into the situation, according to a report.
Some reportedly suggested the gesture was in response to a breach of his team’s radio channel that featured an unidentified person telling Wallace, who is NASCAR’s only current black driver competing in its Cup Series, to “go back to where you came from you a******.”
Wallace reportedly did not hear the comment.
Within the sport of race car driving, Wallace has been a leading voice on racial matters, contributing to NASCAR’s ban on the Confederate flag at races in 2020.
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Wallace also drew attention in 2020 for contending that a noose was placed in his garage. Those claims have since been proven to be false.
Following his back-to-back top-five finishes, Wallace currently ranks 15th in the Cup Series standings.