23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin was furious after finding out that his driver Corey Heim was cornered and assaulted by Chad Bryant Racing members at Martinsville. On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin called the crew a bunch of “f******* cowards,” before saying that if they aren’t penalized, he would have a problem with NASCAR.
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Less than a day after Hamlin’s comments, NASCAR has decided to penalize those involved in the pit road chaos in front of the infield hot dog stand at Martinsville. Six crew members were hit with penalties. Team owner Chad Bryant was heavily penalized, NASCAR confirmed.
“Several penalties have been issued following the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway,” NASCAR Communications’ X post read.
The X post also named Steven Civatares, Chad Bryant, Dylan Jenks, Ryden Lapcevich, Brad Housewright, Chase Burrow, and Ryan Burrow as the ones penalized.
The incident occurred at the end of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway after Heim and Treyten Lapcevich came together on the cool-down lap. The escalation, which started on the pit road, happened when Heim was cornered on his way back to his hauler.
Bryant, in whose car Heim made his ARCA debut, was seen as one of the aggressors. NASCAR penalized him for behavioral misconduct under Sections 12-6.1C and 12-6.1C2 on the grounds of member-to-member confrontation with physical violence.
Bryant’s punishment goes well beyond a $2,000 fine. NASCAR has handed him an indefinite suspension and barred him from the 2027 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville. He will also remain on probation for a year, while the team owner must complete anger management training through a NASCAR-approved program.
The crew member with the biggest penalty, barring Bryant, is Steven Civatares, who was penalized under the same sections. Civatares has been fined $1,000 and is the only other member of the team with an indefinite suspension. He will join the team owner in serving a suspension at the same event next year. Civatares has also been placed on a one-year probation by NASCAR.
Five others were penalized under the same section, with each being placed on probation by NASCAR until December 31, 2027. The fines vary for each: Dylan Jenks, Ryden Lapcevich, and Ryan Burrow were fined $500, while Chase Burrow and Brad Housewright were fined $250.
While the penalties seem justified, the timing seems a bit odd. The incident took place on Saturday, September 26. Hamlin’s podcast was uploaded on Monday, September 28, and NASCAR announced the penalties on Tuesday, September 29th.
Not just the timeline, Hamlin also expressed the kind of actions he wanted to see taken by NASCAR Regional against the Chad Bryant Racing crew and they are eerily similar to the penalties that they have been dealt.
“I don’t know who’s in charge of NASCAR Regional, but there’s absolutely no way that any of those guys should be in a pit lane for the next year at least,” said Hamlin. “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.”
The reactions to the incident from both drivers couldn’t be more opposite. Heim, who is known to be snarky on social media, first posted a selfie signaling he was alright after the incident.
“Solid effort, but at least make it count next time 😂,” his caption read.
A day later, he posted a picture of the menu board at the hot dog stand he was cornered into.
“New office piece,” he wrote. “Poor thing took a beating this weekend.”
While Heim sees the funny side of things, Treyten Lapcevich, the driver on the other side, released a statement distancing himself from the incident and his team’s behavior.
In the statement, Lapcevich wrote that he was angry at Heim for what happened between the drivers on the final lap as well as the cool-down lap, but he just wanted to have a conversation with the 23XI driver. He did not condone his team’s behavior, and his statement said that violence under no circumstances is acceptable.
As the suspensions begin, it will be interesting to see how operations at Chad Bryant Racing continue till the end of 2027, while the owner himself has an indefinite suspension to serve.