Pit road confrontation erupts after close call during Sonoma Cup race

In the middle of the NASCAR Cup race at Sonoma, things were getting heated between drivers and even pit crew members.

Near the end of Stage 2, several drivers pitted early to gain track position ahead of the final stage. Ty Gibbs and Brad Keselowski were two of those drivers. Their pit stalls where right next to each other, and the tire carrier for Keselowski was already standing in the box as he prepared for the car to arrive.

Gibbs was ahead of Keselowski both on the track and in the pits, and as he approached his stall, he cut directly through the RFK Racing stall, getting extremely close to tire carrier, Telvin McClurkin.

McClurkin later told NASCAR on TNT that the tire in his hand got clipped by the car, twisting his wrist. However, he was able to carry on with his duties for the rest of the day.

Immediately after the incident, a furious McClurkin confronted crew members from the Joe Gibbs Racing team. Some words were exchanged, and it quickly escalated into some pushing and shoving between them.

RFK Racing later released video from their pit box, showing what happened to cause the scuffle. 

NASCAR reviewed the incident and felt there was no reason to penalize Gibbs as drivers are permitted to drive through (at most) three pit boxes when approaching their own, stating that the No. 54 did nothing wrong.

Gibbs went on to finish seventh while Keselowski ended the race in 11th.  “Going in, I have the right of way,” Gibbs told NASCAR on TNT, pointing out the orange lines in the pit stalls. “They’re on the wall for a reason. They jump for a reason. Those guys like to push it and that’s kind of the consequence you pay.”

Photos from Sonoma – Race