Tempers flare for Ty Gibbs and Sam Mayer after Martinsville race

Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

     With a hard race for the win Friday night at Martinsville Speedway, and the $100,000 Xfinity "Dash 4 Cash" prize on the line, fans certainly saw some extra push and shove during the closing laps of the 2022 "Call 811 Before You dig" 250 on Friday, April 8th. Among that chaos a couple drivers stood out. 

We had more than a little bit of pushing and shoving during the race, and an altercation (that was somewhat expected) occurred after the drop of the checkered flag.

Ty Gibbs, who was likely the most dominate driver of the night, would make contact with rival Sam Mayer in the final lap of the race. This resulted in an 8th place finish for Gibbs, as well as a 5th place finish for Mayer. Neither driver would take home the "Dash 4 Cash" $100,000 prize like they might had hoped, and neither would even qualify to compete for the prize in two weeks at Talladega Superspeedway. 

On the cool down laps, Gibbs rammed his No. 54 Toyota Supra into the rear bumper of Mayer's car, causing more damage to the JGR car than the previous 250 laps of racing had. 

However, the shenanigans would not stop there.

Anger arose for the young driver as he reconsidered the downward spiral that had just occurred, bringing a dominant night to a disappointing end. 

When both drivers made their way to pit road and climbed out of their race cars, Gibbs didn't stop to take his helmet off before heading over to the No. 1 JR Motorsports car to "talk with Mayer". Gibbs would then give a shove to Sam Mayer before turning back to his own car. The JR Motorsports driver would proceed to follow Gibbs, and after a short exchange of words, a fight would break out. Gibbs and Mayer would throw several punches, before the altercation was eventually broken up by NASCAR Officials, and team personnel. 

As you might expect, NASCAR would sit both drivers down inside the NASCAR Xfinity Series Official's hauler for a chat, following the incessant. This was done to prevent the situation from re-occurring or escalating again in the upcoming weeks.

Of course, there are always two sides when something like this breaks out, and depending on perspective, either side can be at fault. More importantly, run-ins such as these do not occur every week in the NASCAR world, and it’s certainly something to acknowledge.

THE BOYS ARE THROWING DOWN pic.twitter.com/Ht9d574K80

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 9, 2022

A brawl-inducing bump. pic.twitter.com/PK6Jt3fOhD

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 9, 2022

Hear from both sides after tonight's fight at @MartinsvilleSwy.@sam_mayer_: pic.twitter.com/J6p5ceUh3L

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 9, 2022

.@TyGibbs_: pic.twitter.com/aEEQnDjaXd

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 9, 2022