Toward the middle of the third and final stage of Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series round of 16 finale at Bristol Motor Speedway, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace plummeted from the lead to the mid-to-low teens due to an incredible level of tire wear and degradation.

As he was making his way into the pits, he made a slight move to the right up the race track. The ensuing contact with the No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. caused the No. 47 car to spin, bringing out a caution flag.

Of course, Wallace benefited from the caution, as it gave him the opportunity to pit for new tires without losing multiple laps. As a result, he was blamed for intentionally causing the wreck and doing so simply to bring out the caution that he so desperately needed.

Wallace almost immediately apologized on the radio, noting that the car supposedly wouldn’t turn. That much was believable with how badly his car had been handling over the previous few laps.

Bubba Wallace ignites a controversy with Stenhouse spin

That didn’t stop fans from spreading conspiracy theories on social media, and because I’m sure we all know by now what the mere mention of the name “Bubba Wallace” does to the fanbase, we’re going to save you the hassle of reading through dozens of tweets about it (unless you choose to do so on your own volition).

I’m not fully sure what to think here. On one hand, it obviously happened at the single-most convenient time for Wallace, literally moments before he had planned on making a pit stop, and it just so happened to be Wallace who caused the collision. Coincidence?

On another, Wallace had already clinched his spot in the round of 12 after a strong start to the round of 16, so unnecessarily making an enemy out of a non-playoff driver probably would not have been his best move, especially with him currently performing better than he’s ever performed.

However, it would not be the first time a driver has triggered a much-needed caution for themselves, and it would certainly not be the first time that Wallace himself has caused a caution flag at a time when he desperately needed it due to a tire issue.

As for this one, it will surely continue to be debated – unless, of course, Wallace comes right out and says “yes, I did it on purpose.” We all know that won’t happen, though. And after all, perhaps there’s no reason for it to, if he really didn’t do it on purpose. Only he knows for sure.