A wild brawl broke out at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday after a late-race clash between two drivers spilled from the track into the garage area.
The fight erupted following the second qualifying heat for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, one of the biggest Late Model Stock Car events of the year at the historic Virginia short track.
Drivers Chase Burrow and Brad Housewright were both fighting for a spot in the main event when tempers boiled over.
Burrow had been running inside the top 10 before officials sent him to the rear after determining he caused a caution. On the final lap, he was trying to work his way back into a transfer position when he made contact with Housewright.
That contact didn’t stay on the track.
After the race, Housewright confronted Burrow in the garage area, where video shows the two exchanging words before the confrontation quickly escalated.
At one point, Housewright could be heard threatening to knock Burrow out.
A member of Burrow’s crew stepped between the drivers, but Housewright shoved him, and within seconds several people from both teams rushed into the confrontation.
Then the punches started flying.
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Burrow and Housewright went after each other and eventually ended up on the ground as crew members joined the chaos. Some people appeared to throw punches, while others desperately tried to pull the two sides apart.
When the fight finally broke up, Housewright got back to his feet with his firesuit partially open and blood visible on his face and undershirt.
He later told Short Track Scene that he was furious over how Burrow raced him coming to the checkered flag.
Housewright said he believed Burrow tried to turn him while they were battling for position, calling the move dangerous and saying someone could have been seriously hurt.
Burrow gave a different version of events.
He told Short Track Scene that he did not believe he had actually raced Housewright aggressively and accused Housewright of grabbing one of the smaller members of his crew during the confrontation.
In the end, neither driver got what he wanted.
Both Housewright and Burrow failed to advance out of the heat race and did not qualify for the 200-lap main event. The official heat lineup had Housewright starting 11th and Burrow 12th in the second qualifying race.
The ValleyStar Credit Union 300 attracts dozens of Late Model competitors and is billed by Martinsville Speedway as one of NASCAR’s most prestigious grassroots races.