{"id":551891,"date":"2026-03-21T20:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T20:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/551891\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T20:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T20:53:09","slug":"bubba-wallace-calls-for-hockey-rules-for-nascar-driver-fights-elimination-of-fines-penalties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/551891\/","title":{"rendered":"Bubba Wallace calls for ‘hockey rules’ for NASCAR driver fights, elimination of fines, penalties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tensions in NASCAR<\/a> have been bubbling for weeks. Bubba Wallace<\/a> just added fuel to the fire with a take that\u2019s sure to divide the garage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking with Frontstretch<\/a> ahead of qualifying at Darlington, Wallace pushed back on the idea of fining drivers for fighting, instead suggesting a more old-school approach. One rooted in respect and retaliation, based on what he called \u201chockey rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d Wallace said<\/a> when asked if penalties should exist for fighting.\u201dWhen you\u2019re done wrong, it\u2019s different for me, and I blame my dad, but also respect how he was. He was an eye-for-an-eye, right? When you\u2019re disrespected, there\u2019s a fine line of being a better person or making sure they don\u2019t do that again.<\/p>\n

As Wallace mentioned, it\u2019s a mindset shaped by his upbringing, one that leans into accountability between drivers rather than intervention from NASCAR. In Wallace\u2019s eyes, sometimes stepping up isn\u2019t just personal, it\u2019s about defending your team and sponsors.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the \u201chockey rules\u201d comparison comes in. Wallace referenced the idea of letting drivers settle things physically to a point.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo to the ground, then you can stop it,\u201d Wallace said. He was still acknowledging that there needs to be a boundary.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a delicate balance. Still, it\u2019s one he believes could actually prevent deeper, more dangerous resentment from building behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

Moreover, his comments ring especially true at a time when on-track tensions are already spilling into post-race confrontations. The latest flashpoint came in Las Vegas, where Daniel Su\u00e1rez<\/a> and Ross Chastain<\/a> had a heated exchange on the cooldown lap that nearly escalated into a fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While shoves were exchanged, it stopped short of punches, a trend that\u2019s become increasingly common in the modern NASCAR era. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.<\/a> offered a clear explanation for why.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After being fined $75,000 for his own altercation with Kyle Busch<\/a> last year, the financial consequences are now front of drivers\u2019 minds in those heated moments. \u201cStenhouse admitted<\/a> that, highlighting how penalties have effectively changed driver behavior.<\/p>\n

Instead of throwing punches, retaliation has evolved into something more strategic and arguably more impactful. Drivers now settle scores on the track, racing each other harder, putting rivals in difficult positions and chipping away over multiple weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s Next Gen car, where physical contact is more limited, that kind of long-game approach has become the new norm. But Wallace\u2019s comments raise an interesting question as to whether NASCAR has gone too far in policing emotion.<\/p>\n

The sport is built on intensity and personality. So, of course, the absence of physical consequences may actually be allowing tensions to fester longer than they should.<\/p>\n

Regardless, don\u2019t expect NASCAR to adopt \u201chockey rules\u201d anytime soon. But as rivalries like Su\u00e1rez vs. Chastain continues to heat up, Wallace\u2019s perspective taps into something many fans and drivers have wondered, whether it\u2019s better to just let them settle it.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tensions in NASCAR have been bubbling for weeks. Bubba Wallace just added fuel to the fire with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-551891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}