Bubba Wallace Jr. 'should have been suspended for the rest of the year', feels Kyle Petty

Former NASCAR Cup Series driver and current NBC Sports analyst Kyle Petty has not held back in voicing his displeasure with Bubba Wallace Jr. after the latter's actions last weekend. The 23XI Racing driver made headlines in the sport after spinning Kyle Larson during the South Pont 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, before going on to confront the #5 hendrickcars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver.

In the aftermath of the 400-mile-long race, Bubba Wallace Jr. received flak from the stock car racing community for his unprofessional behavior in Sin City, along with penalties that followed for the Mobile, Alabama native. NASCAR announced the #45 McDonald's Toyota Camry TRD driver has been suspended from participating in next weekend's Round of 8 race at Miami-Homestead Speedway.

Kyle Petty was vocal about how he felt the reprimand was not strict enough against Wallace Jr. on a recent episode of the MotorMouths show on Peacock, citing possible grave repercussions for his actions. He said:

“He should have been suspended for the rest of the year. He drives for Denny Hamlin, who has been vocal about safety. His teammate (Kurt Busch), the only reason he’s in the 45 car is his teammate’s career was all but ended because of an accident in this car that the drivers have vocalized that it needs to be safer. He turns a guy in the right rear into the outside wall intentionally. Steering break? That’s laughable.”

Petty emphasized how Bubba Wallace Jr. first spun Larson on a high-speed track, which warranted a suspension in his eyes, followed by walking across the track to physically confront him. In addition to the above mistake, Wallace Jr. also refused to abide by a safety official's instructions. The 62-year-old veteran believed that each of these errors warranted separate suspensions for the #45 Toyota driver.

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Kyle Petty appreciated Kyle Larson's behavior towards Bubba Wallace Jr. during their confrontation last weekend

Kyle Petty went further in his critical analysis of Bubba Wallace Jr.'s incident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Sunday by reacting to the behavior of the two drivers involved. Petty, a veteran of the sport, spoke about how Wallace Jr.'s aggravated actions after the on-track incident did not paint a positive picture of the sport while appreciating Larson for keeping his cool. He said:

“He [Bubba Wallace Jr] can say the steering broke, but he never lifted off the accelerator at the same time he drove back down the race track. This was an unprofessional move. What we saw out of Kyle Larson was a champion and a professional reaction to the situation, the way he backed away from Bubba, and the things he had to say.”

Bubba Wallace Jr. will be seen racing in the last Round of 8 race at Martinsville Speedway as a result of his penalties, missing this upcoming Sunday's Dixie Vodka 400 at Miami-Homestead.