WATCH: Earnhardt Furiously Confronts Joe Graf Jr. After Crash Drama in Phoenix
via Getty
CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 25: Jeffrey Earnhardt, driver of the #0 ContecThankYou Heroes Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25, 2020 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
In Phoenix, the last lap action in the front took most of the headlines. But the title-deciding race was also full of moments scattered throughout. One of which resulted in Jeffrey Earnhardt getting in a heated exchange with the driver who wrecked him.
In a post-race video, Earnhardt can be seen angrily confronting Joe Graf Jr, presumably about the Lap 59 incident between them.
The conversation between the two drivers got lost amidst the sound of mechanics disassembling the car. But one can still look at the body language and gestures of both drivers to get an idea of the dialogue and dynamics.
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Earnhart can be seen trying to reason with Graf Jr. as to why he crashed into him. The No.17 driver, who himself got wrecked in Lap 99, is seemingly trying to defend his innocence.
But the No. 0 seems to be having none of it. After a while, Graf Jr. simply walks away from Earnhardt and puts an end to the confrontation.
The incident between Jeffrey Earnhardt and Joe Graf Jr.
During Lap 59, Joe Graf Jr made contact with Jeffrey Earnhardt on the backstretch and sent him bumping into the car of Kyle Weatherman before skidding on the track.
This incident ended Earnhardt’s race.
Jeffrey Earnhardt had a lot of help that led to his wreck on the backstretch. pic.twitter.com/OT4Z7mplTA
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 7, 2021
But the ‘culprit’ Joe Graf Jr. himself got wrecked later in the race. The No.17 driver hit the wall hard into Turn 1 and experienced a race-ending crash in Lap 99.
Jeffrey Earnhardt finished 26th in this season with zero top-five finishes.
Joe Graf Jr. finished two places behind the man he wrecked in 28th this season.
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A FINISH FOR THE AGES!
DANIEL HEMRIC WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP! pic.twitter.com/3Th1benCnC
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) November 7, 2021
The result and headlines in Phoenix finished in favor of Series champion Daniel Hemric, who hadn’t won a single race in his career, but ended up winning the Xfinity Series title with his very first win in a ‘finish for the ages.’
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As was expected from the season finale, the race in Phoenix delivered on all accounts, on all ends of the track, both during and after the race.
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