NASCAR owner Chad Bryant, crew member suspended indefinitely for attacking rising star Corey Heim at Martinsville

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After days of indecision, NASCAR disciplined seven people who participated in the attack of young racing star Corey Heim in front of a concession stand at Martinsville Speedway shortly after the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 on Saturday.

Major penalties and suspensions were issued to team owner Chad Bryant and crew member Steve Civatarese. Both are suspended indefinitely from NASCAR events — including next year’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 — and are also on probation for a year.

Additionally, Bryant was fined $2,000 and must attend a NASCAR-approved anger management program. Civatarese was fined $1,000. Ryden Lapcevich, the younger brother of Bryant driver Treyten Lapcevich, was fined $500 and placed on probation through Dec. 31, 2027.

NASCAR said in a release that Bryant, Civatarese and Ryden Lapcevich violated Sections 12-6.1C & 12-6.1C2 of the NASCAR Rule Book, which pertains to member-to-member confrontations with physical violence.

Four others from the Bryant pit crew were also fined and put on probation because of their participation in a separate altercation after the conclusion of the second heat race at Martinsville.

Things got a little heated at the @MartinsvilleSwy hot dog stand after the race for Corey Heim…🫣 pic.twitter.com/NiFUMVCwfB

The disciplinary action comes after NASCAR was criticized on social media by racing fans who wondered if the governing body would ignore the beating of Heim that was widely distributed online. NASCAR posted its own video of the confrontation.

Heim, 24, often races cars for 23XI Racing, owned by Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan, and will drive for the team full-time next year. During his podcast “Actions Detrimental” on Monday, Hamlin called Bryant and his team “cowards.”

“Just complete classlessness from Chad Bryant, the owner, and his team to wait on Corey,” Hamlin said. “Listen to what they did. Those [expletive] cowards waited on Corey Heim to leave his car and leave his team, and then jump him while he was on the way to his hauler.”

The attack in front of a hot dog stand in the pit area was triggered by an accident shortly after the checkered flag involving Heim and Treyten Lapcevich, who was driving Chad Bryant Racing’s No. 77. After the pair aggressively jousted for runner-up during the final laps, Lapcevich drove into Heim’s right side during the cool-down lap. Heim responded by sending his car over the front of Lapcevich’s car, causing a wreck that destroyed both cars.

Lapcevich tried to confront Heim after the race but was held back by Bryant, who instead brought six team members to do so violently. Lapcevich issued a statement Tuesday condemning the actions of his racing team.

“What happened with Corey after the race was wrong, and it should not have happened,” Lapcevich said. “While I was not involved in the incident, I want to be clear that I do not condone any action that took place.

“Emotions can run high after a race, and I was certainly frustrated and upset following Saturday night. I planned on having a conversation with Corey following the race. However, there is a clear line between being angry about what happens on the racetrack and allowing that frustration to become physical. What happened after the race for sure crossed that line.”

A livestream of the Sacramento Kings’ media day caught reporters making personal remarks about guards Ben Simmons and Zach LaVine between interviews.

Hamlin called for discipline on his podcast and got plenty of support from fans on social media.

“I don’t know who’s in charge of NASCAR Regional, but there is absolutely no way that any of those guys should be in a pit lane for the next year, at least,” Hamlin said. “And 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.”

Heim seemed to downplay the incident. He posted a selfie with a thumbs-up and a caption that read, “Solid effort, but at least make it count next time.” He also posted the hot dog stand menu — which was dented by an errant punch during the fight — saying “New office piece. Poor thing took a beating this weekend.”

Pit crew members punished for the separate altercation included Dylan Jenks and Ryan Burrow, who each were fined $500 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31, 2027. In addition, Brad Housewright and Chase Burrow were each fined $250 and placed on the same probation.

Heim, a rising star who won NASCAR Cup Series events at Naval Base Coronado and Indianapolis Motor Speedway this season and is the reigning NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, was driving the No. 22 for Nelson Motorsports.

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Steve Henson is a breaking news and enterprise reporter at the Los Angeles Times. He previously served as an editor and reporter in the Sports department. Henson was a leader in digital-only newsrooms from 2007-19 as a senior editor and columnist at Yahoo Sports and as senior editor at the USA Today Sports Media Group. This is his second stint at The Times, having covered the Dodgers and UCLA as well as doing enterprise, investigative and features writing from 1985-2007.

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