As Motorsport.com reports, Denny Hamlin has made his fury entirely clear after 23XI Racing driver Corey Heim was ambushed and jumped by members of a rival late model team at Martinsville Speedway this past weekend.
The ugly incident took place following the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 late model race, where Heim collided with Treyten Lapcevich on the final restart while racing to the checkered flag, ultimately finishing second and denying Lapcevich a shot at the win. Further contact occurred after the finish, resulting in Heim driving over the top of Lapcevich's car and destroying both machines. While Lapcevich the driver was not present, a group of individuals from Chad Bryant Racing—including team owner Chad Bryant himself—cornered Heim near the track's hot dog stand as he walked alone toward his hauler.
They got to get control of the whole Martinsville thing because it's spiraling out of control, and I don't know who's in charge of it, but they got to do better,
Several punches were thrown during the assault, and Heim never fought back against the outnumbered situation. Interestingly, Heim actually drove for Bryant earlier in his career when he first started competing in the ARCA Menard's Series, adding an extra layer of bitterness to the betrayal. Heim now competes for 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, a squad co-owned by Hamlin and basketball icon Michael Jordan.
Speaking out on his weekly podcast, Actions Detrimental, Hamlin held nothing back regarding the physical confrontation. "I mean, just complete classlessness from Chad Bryant, the owner, and his team, to wait on Corey -- listen to what they did. Those f****** cowards waited on Corey Haim to leave his car and leave his team and then jumped him while he was on the way to his hauler," Hamlin said.
The co-owner laid down a direct ultimatum for governing bodies regarding the punishment for those involved in the paddock brawl. "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. 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 stated.
Hamlin also noted that Heim attempted to tell the group that he had no intention of fighting back, before criticizing the broader management of events at the venue. "They got to get control of the whole Martinsville thing because it's spiraling out of control, and I don't know who's in charge of it, but they got to do better," Hamlin added. "Just really (need to) put some real rules down that, if we're going to have fights, then this will be your last Martinsville for quite some time or last short track race. But I don't know those -- I got no respect for those guys."
