NASCAR announced disciplinary actions against seven people for fighting at Martinsville Speedway during the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on Saturday, Sept. 26.
Two of the people involved with the attack on 23XI Racing driver Corey Heim — team owner Chad Bryant and crew member Steven Civitarese — have been suspended indefinitely from NASCAR events and are suspended from next year’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300, one of the most prestigious late-model stock-car races in the sport. Bryant, owner of Chad Bryant Racing, was fined $2,000 and must complete NASCAR-approved anger management training. Civitarese was fined $1,000.
Dylan Jenks and Ryan Lapcevich were also fined $500 for their involvement in the post-race scuffle with Heim.
For a separate fight
that occurred on Saturday in the garage area between the heat races at Martinsville, NASCAR fined Brad Housewright $250, Chase Burrow $250 and Ryan Burrow $500.
All seven people on the penalty sheet have been placed on probation for one year, NASCAR announced on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Heim — the 24-year-old who won two Cup Series races this season on a part-time schedule, taking checkered flags at the Brickyard 400 and Naval Base Coronado — finished second on Saturday night to Caden Kvapil at Martinsville. Apparently unhappy with how Heim raced him, Treyton Lapcevich drove into Heim’s right side in turn 1 during the cool-down lap, and then Heim’s No. 22 Toyota went airborne, climbing over the front of Lapcevich’s No. 77 machine. The wreck basically destroyed both cars.
After cars parked on pit road, Lapcevich was on his way to confront Heim, but was stopped by Bryant. Moments later, as Heim was exiting pit road and on his way to his hauler, Bryant and two other crew members from the team were captured on video throwing punches toward Heim near Martinsville’s iconic infield hot dog stand.
Heim seemed to evade most of the punches and didn’t return fire. After leaving Martinsville, Heim posted a selfie with a thumbs up on X with a caption that read, “Solid effort, but at least make it count next time.”
On Monday, Heim posted another photo on X of the menu sign from the hot dog stand — which received one of the punches intended for Heim — hanging in his home with a caption that read, “New office piece. Poor thing took a beating this weekend.”
The fight was broken up after about 20 seconds by deputies with the Henry County Sheriff’s Office and Heim went to his hauler.
Tony Stewart, Dale Jr. weigh in on Martinsville fights
Lapcevich issued a statement on X saying, “What happened after the race with Corey was wrong, and it should not have happened. While I was not involved in the incident, I want to be clear that I do not condone any actions that took place. … I’m glad Corey was able to walk away from the situation okay. Those actions were unacceptable, and they do not reflect who I am as a person or as a competitor.”
On his podcast on Monday, NASCAR driver and 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin called Bryant and his crew members “classless” and “cowards.” Other prominent voices around NASCAR have weighed in on the altercation, too.
During a guest appearance on the podcast “Door Bumper Clear,” Hall of Fame driver Tony Stewart called Bryant and his crew “idiots.” Fellow Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked about it on his podcast on Tuesday, as well.
“Corey Heim is by the hot dog stand, and Chad Bryant and his guys jump him,” Earnhardt said. “Chad Bryant and his guys jumped Corey Heim. It’s all right there on the internet. That was over the line, way over the line. I know Chad — you know, he’s raced in the CARS Tour, he’s raced in late-model stocks for a long time. I got a lot of good things to say about Chad, but not in that moment. That was a bad decision.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASCAR suspends 2 people indefinitely for attacking Corey Heim at Martinsville
