Former NASCAR driver Matt Tifft was fined after being kicked in the face by a crew member from another team during a post-race brawl.
The accident, which Tifft called a “crossing of the line,” occurred after the Glass City 200 race at Toledo Speedway in Ohio.
Tifft said after the race that he tried to confront the driver of the No. 23 car. Billy Van MeterTifft claimed to have destroyed several cars during the race, including his own.
In fact, only nine FinishedSeven cars finished the race, including Van Meter, but Tifft was unable to finish due to an accident.
Tifft posted a video online that shows him approaching Van Meter's crew after the incident.
“Hey, what's this?” Tifft said, walking toward Van Meter.
The driver was quickly subdued by the crew, who held his head down and forced him to the ground.
“Get out of here! You've come to the wrong place!” a crew member can be heard saying.
Tifft said there was nothing wrong with the altercation, initially broken up by a crew member and then by a race official.
“I had no problem with that. I was the one who started the confrontation and he was trying to stop it and protect the other driver. I have no problem with that… [The official] He did a great job and just did his duty to stop the fight.”
But Tifft said he apparently gave up on the situation and fell to the ground, after which he was kicked in the face by another crew member, Brian Glaze.
“Under no circumstances would I go in and try to kick somebody in the face like in the NFL,” Tifft said in an interview with The Blaze News. “That was way over the top. And not only did he hit me in the face, he kicked the referee.”
Tifft, who is returning to NASCAR for the first time since leaving the sport in 2019 due to a brain tumor and epilepsy diagnosis, explained that he had heard about Van Meter beforehand at the Toledo race, which was sponsored by the American Speed Association.
“We had been warned that he was notorious for cheating drivers but unfortunately he fell victim to it that day,” the driver said.
In the video caption, Tift Written“Hopefully this is my last chance to get caught by 'Van Meter.'”
“I have no intention of filing charges against anyone else on the team.”
ASA Stars national tour coming soon Taking Action All involved parties were fined $250 and Tifft was deducted 25 points from his tour score, and he was placed on probation for the remainder of the year.
Crew member Glaze was suspended indefinitely from all events and fined $2,000, while the car owner and team were placed on probation.
Driver Van Meter also lost 25 points and was placed on probation for the remainder of the year.
After viewing the video, Tifft said he was “seriously considering” filing charges against Glaze because his conduct was “extremely egregious.”
“I have no intention of filing charges against anyone else on the team and a little skirmish is fine, but I am seriously considering Brian because aspiring young drivers are in this series to develop and don't need to be hanging out with guys like this.”
Tifft concluded by saying that he has no intention of retaliating against Van Meter in any way and that he expects him to race cleanly in the future.
Driver said he wants to bring attention to all the drama for a good cause when he appears at Akron Children's Hospital's Dance for Kids event on Oct. 18.
“Watch me dance (badly) on stage with my kids for a good cause.”
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