Following a crash in the closing stages of the Snowball Derby, Stephen Nasse decided to take the fight to his own pit crew.
Yes, his own pit crew.
During a pit stop with 116 laps remaining, his pit crew failed to tighten the lug nuts on the left rear of the No. 51 Jett Motorsports entry. So, Nasse returned to pit road for them to tighten them. Nasse again claims they failed to secure the left rear wheel. Nasse returned to the track with a loose wheel and his vibration worsened until the wheel completely fell off. The entire inside of the rim broke off and he hit the wall in Turn 3.
READ MORE: Complete Snowball Derby coverage
Under caution, Nasse dangerously exited his car in front of oncoming traffic and walked all the way down pit lane with his helmet and HANS device in hand.
Upon reaching his pit stall, he tossed his helmet and HANS at the crew. That led to a physical altercation between the driver and his crew, with Nasse being tackled to the ground.
Nasse’s point of contention was that his team had hired the pit crew for upwards of $5,000 — a job that was not done correctly. When considering the damages to his car, that cost the No. 51 team over $20,000 and risked the safety of the driver.
Nasse is no stranger to controversy, having been involved in several high profile incidents, including the 2016 Snowball Derby when he retaliated upon William Byron after a crash between the two. Nasse turned around on the track and made a targeted strike against Byron, wiping out both of their cars.
Back in April, Nasse and Donnie Wilson were involved in a crash at Five Flags Speedway and it prompted Nasse to climb out of his car and begin punching Wilson before he climbed out of his own machine.
And then in June, Nasse was involved in a shouting match with Josh Brock’s crew after a crash between them on the final lap of the Redbud 400 at Anderson Speedway in Indiana.
Read more Short Track Scene:
