Bubba Wallace wrecked the 77 car at Martinsville Speedway during a NASCAR Cup Series race on the tight half-mile short track. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Petty called out the move live on the FOX broadcast as it happened.
Harvick said Wallace drove straight through the 77 car and suggested something else triggered the aggression on track. Petty said the three-wide battle going into Turn 1 did not justify the contact that followed.
After the race, Wallace spoke directly to FOX Sports reporter Jamie Little on pit road. He admitted he misjudged the corner and said he did not mean to wreck the other driver. The incident quickly became one of the biggest talking points from the event, with both broadcasters and fans watching the replay closely.
Kevin Harvick Reacts During the Broadcast
Kevin Harvick spoke on air during the FOX broadcast as the production team showed the replay.
“Yeah, and Bubba’s had a tough day. I’m telling you what, there’s got to be more to that story. Because that right there… I mean, Bubba Wallace just drove flat through the 77 car, so I would assume there was something that happened before that for that type of aggression. He was mad.”
Harvick pointed out that Wallace pulled down the track and throttled up before driving through the other car. He noted that Wallace had already dealt with a difficult race before the wreck took place. The former NASCAR Cup Series champion highlighted the level of aggression Wallace showed on the short track and made clear he believed the move went beyond a racing incident.
Kyle Petty Gives His Perspective
Kyle Petty weighed in on the wreck as the broadcast team reviewed the replay on screen.
“Hocevar is an easy target right now. You almost wrecked Hocevar, and everybody says, ‘Well, that’s just Hocevar. He had that one coming.’ But in this case, I don’t think Hocevar had this coming, man. Taking you three-wide at Martinsville is not cause for what we’re seeing right here on the screen.”
Petty made it clear that going three-wide into Turn 1 did not justify the contact that followed. He defended the driver of the 77 car and said the move Wallace made went too far, given the situation on the track at that moment.
Bubba Wallace Explains His Actions
Bubba Wallace spoke to Jamie Little of FOX Sports on pit road after the incident.
Wallace said, “I misjudged. I didn’t appreciate the three-wide into [Turn] 1, fine, but I misjudged the center of the corner and didn’t mean to turn him.”
Wallace took full responsibility for the contact. He made clear he did not agree with the three-wide move going into the turn, but he also owned the mistake and said he did not intend to wreck the other driver. His comments came shortly after the incident and gave fans a direct account of what happened from his perspective at Martinsville Speedway.
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