At the conclusion of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, tensions were high between Corey Heim and Treyten Lapcevich racing for Chad Bryant Racing, after hard contact after the checkered flag in Turns 1 and 2.
Things seemed to have settled immediately post-race, until later after the race, Corey Heim was on his way to his trailer and was confronted by members of the Chad Bryant team.
The team members of the Chad Bryant team began to throw punches at Heim, with one member pinning Heim to the Martinsville Hot Dog Stand building wall, and another member attempted to punch Heim, with other members joining in on the fight.
Denny Hamlin, a team owner for 23XI Racing and owner of Corey Heim’s 2027 NASCAR Cup Series ride expressed great displeasure towards Chad Bryant and his team on Actions Detrimental, Hamlin’s weekly podcast.
“Complete classlessness from Chad Bryant, the owner and his team to wait on Corey,” Hamlin explained.
Hamlin further explained what developed at Martinsville, and wants consequences of the actions.
“Listen to what they did, Those fucking cowards waited on Corey Heim to leave his car and leave his team, and then jump him while he was on the way to his hauler,” Hamlin said. “I don’t know who’s in charge of NASCAR Regional, but there is absolutely no way that any of those guys should be in a pit lane for the next year, at least. “And I want them to say publicly what they do to them. And if it’s nothing, I will have a major problem. But none of those cowards should be in a pit lane in the foreseeable future.”
Hamlin was then asked why Heim didn’t engage in the fight.
“He said to them, ‘I’m not trying to fight,'” Hamlin said from his discussion with Heim. “They need to get control of the whole Martinsville thing because it’s just spiraling out of control and I don’t know who’s in charge of it, but they got to do better and just really put some real rules down that, you know, if we’re going to have fights, this will be your last Martinsville for quite some time or your last short track race you’re going to attend for some time. I have no respect for those guys.”
