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Bubba Wallace has accepted responsibility for his crash with Ryan Blaney during NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 23.
On the last lap of NASCAR's trip to Talladega, Wallace and Blaney came together, eliminating both vehicles from contention and giving Kyle Busch the victory, his first at Talladega since 2008.
Speaking to the media after the race, Wallace stated that he was at fault for the incident and not Blaney, saying:
"Close, close block and just sent us around. Not the 12’s fault, I honestly thought that he would leave me high and dry coming back around. … I caused that one. I thought it would play out a little different. … Not the 12’s fault at all.”
Wallace, who was searching for his first Cup Series victory of the year, ended up with his third-worst result of the year.
Rayan Blaney reacts to Bubba Wallace's NASCAR wreck
After the race, Ryan Blaney didn't blame Bubba Wallace for attempting to block while defending his lead.
Wallace led the last lap of overtime at Talladega Superspeedway when Blaney got a good run into Turn 1 and attempted to pass Wallace, who prevented Blaney's attempts to go low and high.
Blaney had had enough and went into the rear of Wallace's No. 23 Toyota, which sent him up the track and into the wall on the third block attempt. The incident compelled NASCAR to issue a caution, which froze the positions of the cars, resulting in Kyle Busch being named the winner.
Speaking about the collision after the race, Blaney said:
"I’m not blaming anybody. Just hard racing at the end of this thing. Unfortunate that cars got tore up and we missed out on another win."
Despite finishing second, Blaney expressed his frustration in missing out on what he considered was an excellent opportunity to win his first race of the 2023 season.
