Ty Gibbs has been fined $15,000 for ramming Sam Mayer‘s car on pit road after Friday night’s Xfinity race at Martinsville Speedway, the sanctioning body announced Tuesday.
Gibbs and Mayer were not penalized for their fight on pit road.
Coming to the checkered flag at Martinsville, Gibbs received a nudge from Mayer, sending the No. 54 Toyota up the track as the two battled for second place and the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus. Both drivers lost momentum and AJ Allmendinger took home the prize.
Gibbs drove into the back bumper of Mayer’s No. 1 Chevrolet on the cool-down lap to show his displeasure and again on pit road. Once the two parked on pit road, both drivers quickly exited their cars and Gibbs approached Mayer with his helmet on.
As Mayer took his helmet off, Gibbs shoved Mayer and walked away, prompting Mayer to follow and continue the heated discussion. Moments later, Gibbs swung and landed multiple punches to Mayer’s face, sparking a dogpile as crew members and NASCAR officials tried to peel the drivers away from each other. One official was injured in the melee and was taken to the infield care center before seeing a doctor for further evaluation.
In the new @NASCARonNBC Podcast, @SteveLetarte explained why he’s been disappointed in @TyGibbs_ the last two @NASCAR_Xfinity races and why his views are changed on #nascar physical altercations.
Here’s a clip (full audio https://t.co/oLl69GOwp9): pic.twitter.com/QSCKYHZuU7
— Nate Ryan (@nateryan) April 12, 2022
Gibbs has won three Xfinity races this season and sits second in the series points standings. Mayer is sixth in points with three top fives, two in each of the last two races.
The Xfinity Series returns to action on April 23 at Talladega Superspeedway.
NASCAR also announced that Gibbs’ crew chief Chris Gayle was fined $5,000 for lug nut not properly installed.
NASCAR suspended crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz, car chief Kris McCabe and crew member Sam Bowers for four Xfinity races after ballast fell out of Sheldon Creed‘s Xfinity car at Martinsville.
