CONCORD, N.C. — In Concord, N.C., Bubba Wallace walked to an ambulance under his own power after a violent multi-car wreck in Turn 2 ended Stage 1 of Sundays Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Alex Bowman overcorrected and lost control of his No. 48 Chevrolet, sending the car up the banking and smashing into Bubba Wallaces No. 23 Toyota. William Byron also was involved in the contact. Safety crews brought a stretcher to Wallaces door before he climbed out and walked to the ambulance, then was evaluated and later released from the infield care center.
Byron drove his damaged No. 24 Chevrolet back to the garage. Bowman also exited his car after the contact. Caution 3 occurred on Lap 77 near the segment break, and the caution brought Stage 1 to an early close while crews cleared the scene.
The wreck hit during the sixth race of the 10-race Cup Chase. Wallace had entered the weekend 10th in the standings, 137 points behind leader Kyle Larson, and Byron started 12th, 160 points back. Both needed strong finishes and instead took heavy damage before the halfway point.
Charlotte Motor Speedway sits in the Concord and Cabarrus County portion of the Charlotte metro racing corridor that draws fans from across Mecklenburg County. Mayor Rob Harrington and City Manager Marcus D. Jones lead Charlotte city government as big-event weekends send traffic through the region, while CMPD Chief Estella D. Patterson department handles city public-safety coordination on the Mecklenburg side of race weekends.
Bank of America, a major Charlotte-area employer, is the race title sponsor. Local fans following the Chase often track both the on-track result and whether drivers involved in hard hits are evaluated and released, as Wallace was after Sundays Stage 1 wreck.
Wallace team confirmed he was taken to the care center after the hit. Later updates said he was released after evaluation. The race continued under the Chase format with four races still scheduled after Charlotte.