A Fight to the finish is an essential part of any NASCAR race. One afterward? Not so much.
But fists were flying Friday night at Martinsville Speedwayâs pit row when Ty Gibbs and Sam Mayer came to blows after an Xfinity race won by Gibbsâs teammate, Brandon Jones, according to ESPN.
Video of the fracas showed that after the drivers got out of their vehicles, Gibbs approached Mayer with a stride that showed trouble was brewing.
With the aid of a jabbing finger, Gibbs delivered his message and turned away, still wearing his helmet.
Mayer, who had taken off his helmet, followed. Things escalated from pointing to poking amid a flow of words until finally, when Mayer pushed a little more than Gibbs was willing to tolerate, Gibbs took a swing.
WARNING: The following video contains violence that some viewers may find disturbing.
âI tried to talk to him, and he got all in my face, and at that point, weâve got to start fighting,â Gibbs said. âWe got put in a bad position there. The only thing Iâm mad about is didnât have anything. He wasnât going to get past , and I just got hit in the left rear.â
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The Fight proved the adage that it is hard to cause much damage to a man wearing a helmet, with Gibbs suffering as little damage in the Fight as he did on the track, where 16 yellow flags flew on the Virginia track.
The drivers afterward noted that the hard feelings were part of a world where men will be boys.
âWhat led up to that moment was, I talked to Sam, I was frustrated,â Gibbs said, according to NASCAR.com.
âI was like, âWhat are you doing when we got drove into the fence?â 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 thatâs just part of it. You know, hopefully, Iâll learn from it,â he said.
Mayer emerged with some scrapes on his face after the Fight.
âHeat of the moment type stuff,â Mayer said. âI mean, I think itâs more I was just trying to get his attention, and he took it the wrong way, and it just ⊠he just snapped. I mean, thatâs what I say just happened. Nothing anything horrible, but itâs just part of the sport.â
WARNING: The following video contains violence that some viewers may find disturbing.
Gibbs also said the tussle was just part of the sport.
âItâs just part of it, you know. At least theyâre making noise, so thatâs a good thing,â Gibbs said, referring to the booing some fans gave him.
Later, he said, âI got to talk to Sam. So no, weâre all good. Weâre on the same page. Itâs just, boys are playing hard out there, and it led up to that moment.â
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
