Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighs in on Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman dustup in Chicago

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was on the call as Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman got into it near the end of the capped NASCAR Cup Series’ trip to Chicago once again. The 23XI Racing wheelman was spun by the Hendrick Motorsports driver after a battle for position late in the race in the Windy City.

The NASCAR Hall of Famer tried to make sense of what was going through the mind of both drivers during the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download. Evidently, Bowman’s reaction surprised Earnhardt Jr. in the moment, but he didn’t have a problem with the way the No. 48 Chevrolet wheelman handled his business.

“Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman got into it. This was an interesting one,” Earnhardt Jr. stated. “The battle was physical. Pretty crazy. “I was like, ‘Oh shit man.’ Bowman’s like, ‘No, man.’ Bubba took a couple of swipes, in the race car, Bubba was pretty aggressive. They banged off each other. Bubba pushed him through 12. I was like, ‘Oh man, I don’t know how Bowman’s going to respond to this. Is Bowman going to bow up?’

“Like, if Bowman gets knocked out of shape in a corner — every driver, you have an idea in your mind how they’ll react in that scenario. I saw a little more out of Bowman than I expected, in terms of reacting. … I thought it was good, hard, hard, hard racing. As physical as you could get without going over the line of being ridiculous or foolish. … Alex just decided, ‘My nose is in there, I’m going to leave it at this point.'”

Alas, Wallace and Bowman found themselves racing for position in the top 10 during the closing laps of Sunday’s race. The duo was beating and banging, looking as if either one could send the other spinning. It was Bowman who got the upper hand in the end, sending Wallace around in Turn 2 on Lap 70. Bowman finished eighth, Wallace P28. 

It’s also not the first time Wallace and Bowman have tangled. They always seem to get into each other’s business, especially at Chicago, where the 23XI Racing wheelman voiced his displeasure with the Hendrick driver last season, as well.

Regardless, Bubba Wallace might’ve woken up with a bit of regret, as he went from a potential top ten to a P28 finish, while in the middle of a tough points battle for the playoffs. A win could make all his troubles go away, but he hasn’t been able to find Victory Lane yet in 2025.