Bubba Wallace breaks silence on “CRAZY” rumors of JGR suspending Aric Almirola for fight with him

Bubba Wallace and Aric Almirola have a dramatic past between them.

Bubba Wallace breaks silence on “CRAZY” rumors of JGR suspending Aric Almirola for fight with him

Bubba Wallace and Aric Almirola (Via IMAGO)

Aric Almirola returned to Joe Gibbs Racing in the 2024 season after announcing retirement from full-time Cup racing with SHR. He joined JGR’s Xfinity team as a part-time driver and mentor for the young Toyota drivers. But since he was suddenly replaced by Ty Gibbs for the Charlotte Xfinity race and since then has been missing from the garage.

This stirred rumors that Joe Gibbs has either fired or let go of the JGR driver who already won a race for the at Martinsville this season. But latest reports from Fox Sports confirms that it is an entirely different story.  Aric Almirola was suspended after a physical confrontation with Bubba Wallace during a competition meeting where JGR and 23XI Racing drivers were present.

The veteran was given the suspension as the team concluded he was the one who instigated the fight. The incident actually marked exactly year of the confrontation the duo had in 2023 Cup race at Charlotte.  With the duo having a history, Wallace was asked about the incident and he firmly rejected claims that it happened.

FS Video
Who said that?... No, we’ve had our disagreements before, but damn, that’s crazy.
Bubba Wallace told Bob Pockrass.

Denny Hamlin gives his verdict on Bubba Wallace’s playoff chances

Bubba Wallace came into the 2024 season with the hopes of a deep playoff run, but now with just eight races left in the season, he isn’t in the right spot to do so. He is in a situation where he either have to win or be producing top-10 runs super consistently to progress. With two times champion Joey Logano as they amin rival it would be super hard to do according to his boss Denny Hamlin.

Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin
Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin (Credits: Outsider)
That's not going to be easy. The way Logano's been running, it's not crazy and unthinkable, but you're going to have to be consistently better than him over the next seven/eight weeks, and that will be a tough task.
Denny Hamlin said.

Wallace will be hoping that the Almirola controversy would not affect him in the coming races and he can get over it to secure solid finishes for playoff a berth. It would be contesting to see how everything would playout for him in the coming days.

In case you missed it: