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Chase Elliott is NASCAR’s most popular driver.
In fact, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion and son of Hall of Famer Bill Elliott has won the most popular driver award five years running.
Bubba Wallace, meanwhile, is not particularly popular. We’ll let you decide the reasons for that.
Last season, Wallace was suspended for one race after intentionally wrecking 2021 series champion Kyle Larson. It was a dangerous move and Wallace very likely deserved the suspension.
Fast forward less than a year and Elliott appeared to intentionally wreck fellow driver Denny Hamlin after the two came together on track.
So Chase Elliott intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin here right? Even as an Elliot fan, you can't defend that. I would not be shocked if Chase gets a 1 week suspension. #NASCAR #CocaCola600 pic.twitter.com/Rj04Wt67LM
— Tim Jarrell of PWUnlimited (@TimmyBuddy) May 29, 2023
Hamlin’s car went violently inside the wall and he appeared to show evidence afterward that Elliott turned hard left trying to wreck him.
Removing all doubt. His steering came back to the exact same position it had previously after we came off the wall.
The higher the line on steering the further LEFT it’s going. pic.twitter.com/DKo7mrLz28— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) May 29, 2023
Absolute left hook. Cranked the wheel 4X harder left than he did making any corner through the whole day. Bullsh*t move. pic.twitter.com/6DylWjKyVu
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) May 29, 2023
Hamlin, who owns the team that Wallace races for, immediately compared the incidents and called for Wallace to be suspended.
“I got right-rear hooked in the middle of the straightaway. It’s a tantrum, and he shouldn’t be racing next week. Right rear hooks are absolutely unacceptable,” Hamlin said.
“It is the same thing that Bubba Wallace did with Kyle Larson, exact same. He shouldn’t be racing.”
Fans, however, didn’t appear to share the same outrage.
The outrage when Bubba Wallace right rears Kyle Larson vs. The outrage when Chase Elliott right rears Denny Hamlin pic.twitter.com/AULpzaoaFM
— Asteroid (@Asteroid4914) May 30, 2023
Ryan Pritt of the Daytona Beach News-Journal then put it to a vote, asking fans whether they believe that Elliott should be suspended.
The results, however, show that fans seem to have a double standard for Elliott and Wallace. With 2,000 votes in, nearly 68 percent of fans believe that Elliott should not be suspended.
Whether that’s because they feel he didn’t wreck Hamlin or purpose or whether they just like him better is up for you to decide.
But NASCAR now has a decision to make.
On sheer actions alone, it appears Elliott will be watching from home next week.
Whether that happens or not, however, is yet to be seen.