Brad Keselowski’s Notorious Behaviour Had Bubba Wallace as His Latest Victim at COTA

Bubba Wallace was hoping for a breakthrough at the Circuit of the Americas race. He mounted an impressive show during the qualifying round, securing a 10th place starting position. But Wallace watched his hard work melting away as a veteran racer spun his car like a merry-go-round. Christopher Bell’s run-in with Kyle Busch is the COTA conflict that is the talk of the town.

Busch put up a dramatic show when he confronted Bell fiercely post-race. However, there was another incident too. Reportedly, Wallace and Keselowski’s spotters fought it out recently over their drivers’ contact. While the two racers didn’t really pay much heed to the contact after post-race, their spotters haven’t let it go yet.

This was clear when T.J. Majors, Keselowski’s spotter, and Freddie Kraft, Wallace’s spotter, got into a verbal battle on the ‘Door, Bumper, Clear’ podcast. Kraft said: “Turns out you gotta slow down for that turn at that tight corner.” To this, Majors quipped: “Apparently yeah, you slowed down too much. Don’t do that. Kraft cut him mid-way and said, “As I seen you sliding in there trying to pass the 42…” Majors further added, “You were 15 miles slower than your normal speed at that point, you’re gonna get hit.”  

Kraft then admitted that Keselowski’s initial target was John Hunter Nemechek’s No 42. “I mean, Brad did not do it intentionally. I think Brad was racing the 42 and then just had him locked up and got into our left,” Kraft shared, while adding, “I honestly don’t remember. But I’m sure you went back and looked at it…when you ran somebody on the road, guess whose fault it is.” Then Majors craftily replied: “That all depends. That’s all up for speculation.”

Brad Keselowski has always been known to be a vicious player on the track. His infamous aggression became iconic in 2009 at the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega. Carl Edwards was leading the final lap, which Keselowski did not fancy at all. Sure enough, he nicked the back of Edwards’ car, sending him reeling into another racer and the wall. The sheer brutality of Keselowski’s actions earned him the reputation for being a dirty driver.

“F**k #42”: Bubba Wallace Furious Over Jimmie Johnson’s Driver Spinning Him in COTA

That being said, this is not the first time Bubba Wallace had a run-in with the RFK Racing owner. The two drivers have collided four times in total now. Kraft admitted a while ago how a murderous instinct mounted him when Keselowski wrecked Wallace at Phoenix last year. However, Wallace had also put the veteran driver in check at Talladega in 2021, deftly blocking him before the final caution. Wallace’s fortunes in COTA have been bleak till the present. However, with encouragement from loved ones, he seems to be improving.

Wallace built on words of love to improve at COTA

Bubba Wallace may have finished an average 15th place at COTA but considering his previous finishes, he has come a long way. Last year, he had to go through a setback when he suffered terminal damage at COTA. However, his mother was there to uplift his spirits. “If you want something to change, you got to change yourself,” wrote Desiree Wallace. To this, Wallace said: “That stuck with me”.

Wallace also worked on himself to improve his racing. “I took a lot of time to self-reflect, and basically in short, need to get my a** in shape and work out. Just taking care of self. The better your physical health, the better your mental health is.”

Bubba Wallace may not have fared well at COTA, but he is picking up momentum this year after two top-five finishes earlier in the season.

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