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Bubba Wallace vs Kyle Larson punch-up spills over as NASCAR reporter feels the heat from 23XI driver

Wallace’s No. 45 Toyota was going side-by-side with Kevin Harvick when Larson dived under and made Harvick take a step back and forced Wallace into the wall

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Bubba Wallace had a tense and awkward exchange with a NASCAR reporter following his heated clash with Kyle Larson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 16.

The entire ordeal started when Wallace, who won Stage 1, was bumped into the wall by Larson on Lap 95. Wallace’s No. 45 Toyota was going side-by-side with Kevin Harvick when Larson dived under and made Harvick take a step back and forced Wallace into the wall. The impact of the push threw Wallace’s car out of the track. The incident not just impacted Wallace and Larson but also ended playoff driver Christopher Bell’s race with a 34th-place finish.

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After the crash, Wallace came out of his car and stormed towards Larson. He threw his helmet down on the ground and extended his arms to confront him. Wallace then got into Larson’s face and pushed and shoved Larson on the infield grass before the crew interfered and ended the brouhaha.

Following the heated argument, NBC Sport’s Marty Sinder read out a comment by Larson’s crew chief Cliff Daniels, who accused Wallace of retaliating against Larson. But Wallace blamed it on the car and said, "Cliff smart enough to know how easily these cars break so. When you get shoved in the fence, deliberately like he did, trying to force me to lift, the steering was gone.”

He further added, “Hate it. Hate it for my team. … Larson wanted to make it a three-wide dive bomb. Never cleared me. I don’t lift. I know I’m kind of new running up front, but I don’t lift. Wasn’t even in a spot to lift, and he never lifted either and now we’re junk. Just a piss-poor move on his execution.”

Taking the conversation forward, then Snider asked, "When situations like this happen, Bubba, at this speed is retaliation an acceptable thing?" To which Wallace replied, "Stop fishing, stop fishing." Snider then took a little step back and said he wasn’t fishing. He also asked, “What was the message you wanted to send Larson?”

Wallace replied, "He knows. He knows that what he did was wrong. He wanted to question what I was doing he never cleared me. I just hate it for our team." However, Larson also agreed with what Wallace said, adding Wallace "had a reason to be upset.”

Talking to Snider, after getting out of the infield care center, Larson said, “I obviously made an aggressive move into (Turn)n 3 and got in low and got loose and chased it up a bit. He got to my right front and it got him tight and into the wall. I knew he was going to retaliate. He had a reason to be mad. His race wasn’t over until he retaliated. It is what it is. Just aggression turned into frustration and he retaliated.”

Asked if safety workers should have stepped in after Wallace began shoving him, Larson said, “It’s fine. I wasn’t going to fight back, so I think it would just look bad on his part. I’ve never been close to a fight in my life. I’m not a fighter.”