Passion was on display in the NASCAR All-Star Race
Ah, an All-Star event. There’s where athletes put on shiny new one-off outfits, climb into the event and play around.
Not in NASCAR!
Ahead of the All-Star race, we saw the green flag in the Monster Energy Open which is a last chance qualifier for the All-Star field. Bubba Wallace banged fenders with William Byron and lost the stage one win.
In stage two of the Open, Bubba Wallace again came to the finish while racing side-by-side. This time, contact resulted in Daniel Suarez sliding through the infield. Wallace went on to take the stage win and claim his transfer spot.
All that racing action was just to qualify for the big show…
NASCAR fight at the All-Star race
In the NASCAR All-Star Race, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman banged doors on the race track. That was early in the event.
After the race, the two drivers finished nose to tail. Ryan Newman remember the incident earlier in the race.Things heated up on the cool down lap, Newman gave Bowyer a shove after the race was complete.
Bowyer pumped the brakes and door slammed Newman. The #6 driver then gave Bowyer another shot in the rear bumper.
In turn three, Newman hung on the inside left rear of Bowyer’s car. As they approached the corner, Bowyer turned across his nose. Bowyer lost control and hit the outside wall.
All that happened after the race. But, they still weren’t done.
Bowyer parked his car on the pit lane. He left his helmet on and climbed out in a hurry. He ran Ryan Newman’s car. As Newman sat in his car with the helmet off, Bowyer began throwing rapid fire punches at Newman.
Newman eventually climbed from the car. The #6 driver walked over to the #14 car car and exchanged a few words. Newman said, “Learn how to fucking drive!”
Clint Bowyer thought Newman was a lap down this entire time. To which Newman responded, “I was not a lap down you dumb shit.”
Both drivers were called to the NASCAR hauler but no penalties were handed out.
Read comments from both drivers after the NASCAR fight.
Steve O’Donnell on the Bowyer, Newman fight
“With Clint and Ryan, some real passion afterwards. And, that’s an All-Star race. You just don’t see that in other sports,” NASCAR EVP Steve O’Donnell stated to ‘The Morning Drive’ via Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
“What’s on the line for our All-Star race is terrific. It certainly gets folks up on their seats. It’s a fan favorite.”
“So, loved what we saw in terms of the excitement around the racing. We don’t love what we saw post-race. But, that’s the emotion that you see playing out with two drivers going at it in the race.”
“We met with both afterwards. Obviously, we’ll continue to monitor that as we go into the 600. I’m sure the fans will as well.”
“For us, that matter is settled in terms of the discussion we had Saturday. Hopefully, we won’t have to intervene from here.”
More
NASCAR’s Scott Miller reacts to the fight at Charlotte
Clint Bowyer vs Ryan Newman (Video)
NASCAR All-Star Race Results: May 18, 2019
Clint Bowyer vs Erik Jones at Kansas Speedway
Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell fight during NASCAR qualifying
Drivers fight in the middle of the track at Gateway Motorsports Park
Links
Clint Bowyer | Ryan Newman | NASCAR | Charlotte Motor Speedway
