Martinsville Speedway delivered drama both on the track and in the paddock over the weekend, with rising NASCAR talent Corey Heim at the heart of a chaotic confrontation.
Heim, who drives for Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing, was allegedly attacked by members of a rival team after Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
Heim and Treyten Lapcevich engaged in a tense battle for second place behind race winner Caden Kvapil during the closing laps, with the duel appearing to fuel tensions between the two drivers.
As the pair fought for position, Heim appeared to make contact with the rear of Lapcevich’s car, allowing Kvapil to pull clear and claim victory.
The dispute did not end when the checkered flag waved. During the cooldown lap, Lapcevich, seemingly unhappy with Heim’s driving, struck the right side of Heim’s No. 22 Toyota entering Turn 1.
Heim responded by driving over the left front of Lapcevich’s car, leaving both vehicles badly damaged.
NASCAR star Corey Heim was allegedly attacked by members of the Chad Bryant Racing team
Punches were thrown by members of the team, including owner Chad Bryant, as Heim was forced against a sign
Lapcevich climbed from his car and appeared to head toward Heim, but Chad Bryant, the driver’s team owner, intervened before the two could meet.
Bryant and other members of Chad Bryant Racing then confronted Heim near a hot dog stand, where the situation reportedly escalated into a physical altercation.
Punches were thrown as Heim was pushed back against a sign behind him during the confrontation involving members of the Chad Bryant Racing team.
Heim later posted a photograph from the aftermath on social media, captioning it: “Solid effort, but at least make it count next time.”
He also said he took the hot dog menu sign home as a souvenir from the incident and mounted it on his wall.
“New office piece,” Heim wrote in the caption. “Poor thing took a beating this weekend.”
Speaking to NASCAR about the contact with Lapcevich, Heim said: “I really don’t know. He tried to smush me into the curb and then my tire hopped his tire.”
“As you can see, I’ve got nowhere to go. He just completely turns left and then I hop his tire, so I don’t know what he was doing. It is what it is. It’s Late Model racing.”
The altercation followed Heim’s battle with Chad Bryant Racing driver Treyten Lapcevich for second place
Rising star Heim drives for Michael Jordan (pictured) and Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing
Despite the actions involving his team, Lapcevich said he had no desire to fight Heim.
He maintained that he was only walking over to speak with his rival about the collision that occurred after the finish.
‘I was pretty calm even by the time I got to our pit stall there,’ he said, per Short Track Scene. ‘I mean, just disappointed, obviously.’
‘Disappointed in Corey as a racer, a person. Obviously, angry about what he did on the track there,’ he continued. ‘He was running into everyone all night. Like, you saw him, how he was racing with Caden, how he was racing with Lee. Like, Cup guy or not, it doesn’t matter to me, and we’re all the same out here when we get to the track.’
It marked the second NASCAR fight in as many weeks after Carson Hocevar and Ryan Blaney came to blows earlier this month.
Tensions boiled over after Hocevar made contact with Blaney in the closing stages of the race, causing his No.12 car to spin out of second place.
Blaney was unable to finish the race, with his 33rd place finish a big blow to his championship hopes. Hocevar ended up battling with Ty Gibbs for the win, but they made contact with six laps remaining allowing Blaney’s teammate, Joey Logano, to take the win while Hocevar finished third.
As soon as the race finished and Hocevar climbed out of his car, Blaney marched down pit road to confront him.
But as Blaney shoved Hocevar, the Spire Motorsports driver swung a punch with his right hand, connecting with Blaney’s face.
Other team members soon became involved in the melee as the chaotic scenes played out on pit road.
