On Friday night, fists were flying after Ty Gibbs and Sam Mayer came to blows after an Xfinity race.
The heat between the two began after Brandon Jones overtook Ty Gibbs on the last lap of a two-lap sprint to the finish and won at Martinsville Speedway for his fifth career victory and one that set off a brawl on pit road when it was over, according to the New York Post report.
Gibbs expressed his displeasure by running into Mayer after the checkered flag, and things escalated once the two stopped on pit road. Gibbs quickly confronted Mayer, and the two exchanged words and shoves before Gibbs began punching and grabbing Mayer by the head. The two went down in a pile before being separated.
THE BOYS ARE THROWING DOWN pic.twitter.com/Ht9d574K80
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 9, 2022
“I tried to talk to him, and he got all in my face, and at that point, we’ve got to start fighting,” Gibbs said. “We got put in a bad position there. The only thing I’m mad about is [Mayer] didn’t have anything. He wasn’t going to get past [third-place finisher A.J. Allmendinger], and I just got hit in the left rear.”
“What led up to that moment was, I talked to Sam, I was frustrated,” Gibbs said.
“I was like, ‘What are you doing when we got drove into the fence?’ And you know, we kind of shoved a little bit, and I turned away. And when I got grabbed and kind of pulled, that just led up to that moment. I think just build-up, build-up, build-up, and I snapped, and that’s just part of it. You know, hopefully, I’ll learn from it,” he said.
“Heat of the moment type stuff,” Mayer said. “I mean, I think it’s more I was just trying to get his attention, and he took it the wrong way, and it just … he just snapped. I mean, that’s what I say just happened. Nothing anything horrible, but it’s just part of the sport.”
“It’s just part of it, you know. At least they’re making noise, so that’s a good thing,” he said, referring to the booing some fans gave him.
Ty Gibbs punching Sam Mayer in the face repeatedly with a helmet on is the move of a coward. Hate it or not.
I would not be angry if NASCAR decides to issue Gibbs a penalty or suspension. Immature, ridiculous behavior.
— Austin Konenski (@AustinKonenski) April 9, 2022
Here’s an excerpt from the ESPN report:
Before the wild finish, Gibbs had emerged unscathed each time the last several of 16 yellow flags flew as cars spun behind him. Much of the field then crashed on the first attempt at a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish when Mayer, running second, caused Noah Gragson, running third, to spin, causing a major pileup even before the field made it into the first turn.
That was the final caution of the chilly night and brought out a red flag that lasted just under 20 minutes, setting the stage for the drama at the finish.
Landon Cassill came from nowhere to finish second, the first of four Chevrolets behind Jones’ Toyota as Allmendinger was third — and claimed the $100,000 bonus — followed by Austin Hill and Mayer.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who made his first career start on the 0.526-mile oval in his annual foray into the series, started at the back, never contended and was 11th.
It also was a difficult finish for points leader Gragson, who ran up front for much of the night but was relegated to 20th place after Mayer took him out.
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Sources: Western Journal, New York Post, ESPN