Violence Erupts on NASCAR Track as Driver Leaves His Own Car and Pummels Buckled Rival
One driver’s temper snapped Saturday leading to a violent confrontation at a NASCAR Roots race being held at Martinsville Speedway.
The confrontation took place after a qualifying heat for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, which is a NASCAR Roots race, meaning it is among stock car races sanctioned by NASCAR, according to WGHP-TV.
Peyton Sellers won the race, according to Fox News.
The stage was set toward the end of the race when a car driven by Andrew Grady hit the wall, according to Racing News. After the accident, he pointed his finger at Davey Callihan as Callihan’s car drove by.
That set up a confrontation when Callihan pulled into the infield.
We’ve got tempers boiling over at @MartinsvilleSwy
Andrew Grady takes out his frustration on Davey Callihan after an accident in Heat 1@FloRacing pic.twitter.com/DeBkUQ27Xy
— NASCAR Roots (@NASCARRoots) September 24, 2022
Grady said that he started out with an intention to talk, but then changed his mind when Callihan flipped him off.
Video showed Grady punching Callihan multiple times while Callihan was still buckled in the vehicle.
Grady at one point attempted to grab Callihan’s suit to pull him out.
He ended his display of rage with a kick to the driver’s side door of Callihan’s car as crew members came to separate the two.
Grady explained his side later.
“He flipped me off, so I started Mike Tysoning his head. End of the day, we were really, really good. Car was fast. But you get these dumba**es that come in here and run with us and they have no business running a late model much less a lawn mower,” he said.
“He wasn’t close. He dive-bombed me. He hooked me. He wrecked Brandon Pierce in the process. I wanted to talk to him but he flipped me off. So, I started Mike Tysoning his head. I mean, you’re in a big boy sport when you wreck a man, you can take a grown man a** whooping. That’s how I feel,” he said.
“It was for a transfer position at Martinsville. From my perspective, I was there. It was close.”
He says he didn’t flip off Andrew Grady and would have had a conversation about it.
“We were fighting for our lives out there.”
Davey Callihan makes the Martinsville 300. pic.twitter.com/edPBJrGKgI
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) September 24, 2022
Callihan denied flipping off Grady.
“It was for a transfer position for Martinsville. From my perspective, I was there. It was definitely close,” he said. “But you can’t give an inch for the transfer spot when there’s 95 cars and I had to take it.”
“Obviously, he wasn’t too pumped on it. So, he decided to throw a few shots inside the car. But, that’s water under the bridge,” he said.
Callihan qualified for the main event; Grady did not.
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