Bubba Wallace's terrifying response to 'scariest hit I've ever seen'

Sahil Kurup Mon, June 8, 2026 at 1:42 AM UTC

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Wallace reacted to the Elliott-Bell crash

Wallace reacted to the Elliott-Bell crash (Image: Getty)

Bubba Wallace had a front-row seat to one of the most violent crashes NASCAR has seen in years on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

His radio transmission in the immediate aftermath captured the raw fear that swept through the field when Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell hit the wall at close to 200mph. An update has since been issued on possible injuries to Bell after team owner Joe Gibbs was spotted heading to the care center to check on him.

Wallace was running directly behind the two drivers when Elliott got loose underneath Bell on lap 148 and snapped back up into the Toyota, sending Bell into the wall at what appeared to be close to a 45-degree angle, the worst possible angle for generating force. It comes after Elliott has doubled down on a personal sacrifice in support of Kyle Busch.

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The back end of Bell's car caught fire on impact. Elliott's Chevrolet subsequently slid down and struck an inside tire barrier.

The outer wall was visibly bent inward after the collision, the steel of the SAFER barrier compressed by the force of Bell's car.

"Please tell me that guy is all right," Wallace said over his team radio as Bell's No. 20 Toyota erupted in flames against the SAFER barrier in turns 3 and 4. "That was the scariest hit I've ever seen. My god."

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Ryan Preece, also running in proximity to the crash, immediately reached out over radio as well. "Let me know if he's OK," Preece said. "That was wild."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., calling the race on the Amazon Prime Video broadcast, was barely able to contain his emotion after reviewing the replays.

"I haven't seen that hard of a hit in a long time," he said at the time of the crash.

Later, after further review: "I don't think you'll see a car hit a wall at a worse angle at a harder, faster impact than right there. And Christopher Bell was able to drop the window net and climb out. Remarkable."

Earnhardt also took a moment to reflect on what drivers are required to process and push through in situations like this one. "They now, all of these drivers, particularly those ones that were up front, have to compartmentalize that fear or that knowledge," he said.

"That's up front in their face. And now they've got to go back out here and continue to put themselves in that situation and at that risk. They have to ignore a lot of trauma and a lot of dangers and fears to go out there and risk their lives. That's another thing the rest of the field's having to do at this moment," he added.

Bell spent close to an hour in the care center before being evaluated and released. Joe Gibbs later revealed he sustained wrist and ankle injuries and would need further evaluation back in North Carolina during the week. Elliott was also cleared, and accepted full responsibility. "Totally my fault," he said. "I feel really bad for Bell."

The race was red flagged for approximately 25 minutes while crews repaired the crushed SAFER barrier before Denny Hamlin went on to win.

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Source: “AOL Sports”