has indefinitely suspended Chad Bryant Racing owner Chad Bryant and crew member Steven Civitarese after video showed them throwing punches at 23XI Racing driver Corey Heim following Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway. Seven people were disciplined on Tuesday for two separate fights during the late-model event.
Corey Heim, 24, already has two NASCAR Cup Series wins this year on a part-time 23XI schedule, including the Brickyard 400 and Naval Base Coronado, and is set to run the team’s No. 35 Toyota full-time in 2027. On Saturday, he finished second to Caden Kvapil in one of short-track racing’s biggest nights.
Corey Heim and Treyten Lapcevich battled for second on the final restart. Heim beat Lapcevich to the line by 0.072 seconds. On the cool-down lap into Turn 1, Lapcevich drove into Heim’s right side. Heim’s No. 22 Nelson Motorsports Toyota then climbed over the front of Lapcevich’s No. 77 Chad Bryant Racing car. Both machines were wrecked.
Lapcevich headed toward Heim on pit road and was stopped by Bryant. Minutes later, as Heim walked toward his hauler near Martinsville’s infield hot dog stand, Bryant and crew members were captured on video throwing punches. Heim did not swing back. Henry County Sheriff’s deputies broke it up after about 20 seconds.
Heim later posted a thumbs-up selfie on X: “Solid effort, but at least make it count next time.” On Monday, he shared a photo of the hot-dog menu sign which took one of the missed punches, hanging in his home: “New office piece. Poor thing took a beating this weekend.”
said all seven people violated Rule Book sections 12-6.1C and 12-6.1C2, covering member-to-member confrontations with physical violence. All were placed on one-year probation.
Bryant was fined $2,000, suspended indefinitely from NASCAR events, banned from the 2027 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 and ordered into NASCAR-approved anger management training. Civitarese was fined $1,000, suspended indefinitely, and also barred from next year’s Martinsville 300. Ryden Lapcevich, Treyten’s brother, was fined $500 for his role in the Heim scuffle. Treyten Lapcevich himself was not penalized.
A separate garage fight between heat races brought fines for Brad Housewright ($250), Chase Burrow ($250), Ryan Burrow ($500) and Dylan Jenks ($500).
Treyten Lapcevich posted on X: “What happened after the race with Corey was wrong, and it should not have happened. While I was not involved in the incident, I want to be clear that I do not condone any actions that took place. … I’m glad Corey was able to walk away from the situation okay. Those actions were unacceptable, and they do not reflect who I am as a person or as a competitor.”
NASCAR’s message was clear: late-model tempers can run hot at Martinsville, but jumping a driver after the race is a line the sanctioning body will not ignore.
