The final elimination race of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs at Martinsville Speedway, the IAA and Richie Bros. 250, was supposed to be a tight, emotional fight for the championship spots, but it ended in pure chaos. While Tayler Gray celebrated his first career Xfinity Series victory, securing a win that also vaulted rookie Carson Kvapil into the Championship 4, the real drama unfolded behind him.

The simmering tension of the playoff contention boiled over into a full-scale assault, with Sam Mayer intentionally wrecking Jeb Burton into the outside wall. The bad blood had been brewing all night, dating back to Mayer aggressively forcing Burton out of the groove on an early Stage 1 restart. Burton retaliated late in the race, giving Mayer a slight bump to pass him for 6th place. NASCAR officials are taking a hard look at the fallout from the dramatic post-race clash between the two drivers, where tempers boiled over well after the checkered flag.

Why the Martinsville post-race incident crossed the line

Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, made it clear that the governing body won’t let emotions dictate dangerous behavior once the race is over. Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Sawyer said, “Having (that) type of incident after the checkered flag, it’s just not something we’re going to tolerate. We’ll get with our team today, discuss it and see what the next steps are.” 

He also confirmed that any disciplinary action could be announced later in the day, emphasizing that post-race retaliation crosses a line NASCAR has been vigilant about in recent years. Sawyer elaborated on the review process, explaining that the series would evaluate every angle, deciding on penalties.

“I’ll let our series director (in the Xfinity Series) Eric Peterson run point. He’ll talk to both driver, in this case Jeb and Sam, get their side of the story,” he said. “We’ll go back and look at all the replay. We’ll look at the race as an entirety to see what unfolded early on and then we take all of that, we sit down and look at prior situations that are similar and we’ll make a decision on how we move forward.” 

He added that when post-race emotions escalate to the point where “we start using vehicles to run into each other, that rises to a different level and we’ll respond accordingly.” The incident in question took place shortly after the Xfinity Series race at Martinsville, where Mayer and Burton reignited tensions that had been brewing for weeks.

Burton, furious after Mayer’s move following the finish, accused the JR Motorsports driver of deliberate retaliation. “(Mayer) destroyed our car and wrecked us,” Burton said after the race. “Hopefully NASCAR does something because he literally right-reared me into the outside wall. I hate it for my guys to tear up a car.” The frustration in Burton’s tone underscored just how personal the rivalry has become, stretching beyond the usual on-track friction.

Burton didn’t hold back in asserting Mayer’s behavior, painting him as a driver lacking mutual respect. “I race a lot of people out here with respect and I just want it back. He ran over me for no reason, so I gave it back to him and he threw a temper tantrum. I’d love to talk to him but there wouldn’t be much talking… The way he acts, he’s a punk. I think everybody knows that.”

Burton’s remarks reflected the anger and fatigue among drivers who feel that younger competitors have grown too aggressive, something that has become a recurring theme this season in NASCAR’s developmental ranks. Mayer, for his part, didn’t deny his frustrations but justified his actions as payback for earlier run-ins, especially after feeling wronged by Burton in prior races.

“It’s a principle thing,” Mayer said. “(Burton) is the worst person to race around in the entire garage. He has a reputation of being over his head every single week and this was a prime example of it. He just can’t take no for an answer.” The 21-year-old added that his patience had worn thin after repeated conflicts.

“A (playoff driver) racing for something huge, moved him out of the way and went on and was faster than him in the end. As soon as he got back to me, he gave it me and tried to wreck me three corners in a row. Thank God I have enough car control where I can hold on to it and not wreck. He has no respect for someone racing for something that’s bigger than he is.” With the season winding down and championship implications on the line, how NASCAR handles this situation could send a strong message about the limits of competitive emotion and where sportsmanship ends.

However, on the Cup side, Joe Gibbs Racing finally came clear of the mechanical failures plaguing their Martinsville run.

Mechanical meltdown leaves JGR scrambling before Phoenix showdown

Denny Hamlin entered Martinsville hoping for a quiet race weekend, having already secured his Championship 4 berth with a Las Vegas win. But fate had other plans. Both he and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Chase Briscoe, suffered DNFs, a major setback just one week before Phoenix. Despite Hamlin’s desire to avoid headlines, JGR once again found itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Joe Gibbs opened up after the race. “I think it always concerns you anytime you have a motor issue,” he admitted, revealing that both Hamlin’s and Briscoe’s failures stemmed from “valve spring issues.” The JGR owner explained, “We’ve been on that all morning. We went through everything that happened and got all the parts out, and we have a plan and strategy where we end up in a good position, and it doesn’t come back to us this next week in Phoenix.”

Hamlin’s struggles this season have been plagued with recurring technical gremlins, from starter failures to steering and throttle problems. With Phoenix looming, Gibbs said, “Those parts will not be in the cars for this weekend. “So… feel good about that.” Briscoe, meanwhile, remained calm about the setback. “I felt really good about coming here and where we were at and racing with Larson there, and went to upshift and something happened… We’ll go on to next week and that won’t matter anyways.”