Aric Almirola Suspended by Joe Gibbs Racing Over Bubba Altercation

What’s Happening?

According to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, Aric Almirola was indefinitely suspended by Joe Gibbs Racing for a physical altercation with Bubba Wallace during a competition meeting between JGR and 23XI Racing the week of the Charlotte race. Almirola is set to return to the JGR Xfinity Series No. 20 car in July at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A JGR spokesman told Bob Pockrass that there is no comment on the Bianchi report.

• After Ty Gibbs was placed in the No. 20 car for the Charlotte Xfinity Series race, speculation about Almirola began running rampant. A Tweet by Dave Green (@nascarprophecy) on June 1st alleged that Almirola and Wallace had an altercation. Reddit threads like this one started by RBF48 and another started by robbiefox295 also alleged that Wallace and Almirola had some altercation.
• This is not the first time Almirola and Wallace have not seen eye-to-eye. Last year at Charlotte, Almirola shoved Wallace on pit road during a mid-race rain delay at the Coca-Cola 600 following an incident on track. Almirola alleged that Wallace flipped him off on the track before cussing at Almirola on pit road. Wallace said following the incident, “When you walk around with two faces, that’s what you get.”
• Fans were surprised to see that this rumor came true. Few knew whether or not to take it seriously, but it’s now out there. Almirola will return in the car next month, and that seems to be the end of it.

The original NASCAR Prophecy Tweet can be found here.

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