Martinsville Speedway always delivers drama, and Saturday’s IAA and Ritchie Bros. 250 didn’t disappoint. As checkered flags waved, the half-mile paperclip turned into a pressure cooker, with old grudges and fresh frustrations bubbling up under the Virginia lights. But the real drama unfolded after the race.

Sam Mayer wrecked Jeb Burton on the cool-down lap after the checkered flag. Their on-track tussle, rooted in lingering Talladega beef, turned the cool-down lap into a flashpoint that left crews shaking their heads and officials reviewing highlights. And Burton isn’t happy at all.

Jeb Burton lays into Mayer’s post-race tantrum

The fireworks erupted after the cool-down lap when Sam Mayer, still bitter from a late-race bump, hooked Jeb Burton‘s No. 27 Chevy hard into the outside wall. Burton’s team could only watch helplessly.

This was a sequence of revenge in action between the two drivers at Martinsville because Burton’s late-race bump to Mayer was in response to a move made by Mayer on the restart in Stage 1, who was desperate for points, to which Burton radioed angrily, “F–k him and his championship!”

.@sam_mayer_ was not happy with @JebBurtonRacing after the race. pic.twitter.com/PIrQHCTTY9

— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) October 26, 2025

NASCAR officials flagged the move of Mayer wrecking Burton post-checkered, with penalties pending, but the real heat came in Burton’s raw garage debrief with Frontstretch.

“I think Sam was mad that last week he got taken out in an accident at Talladega,” Burton said, referencing the Oct. 18 big one that sidelined Mayer. “And we’re on old tires at the end of stage one, I believe, and he s–t me out of the way. I was on the front row for no reason.” That shove dropped Burton to 20th, scrambling his strategy and fueling his fire. And in payback, Burton fired back by sliding Mayer in the final corner.

Burton didn’t mince words on Mayer‘s retaliation, branding it straight-up immature. “He destroyed our car and wrecked us… he literally right-reared me into the outside wall,” he fumed. “I race a lot of people out here with respect, and I just want it back, and he ran over me for no reason, so I gave it back to him, and he threw a temper tantrum.”

The Virginia native, who’s always prided himself on clean wheels, called Mayer a “punk” whose antics scream playground bully. Especially after Talladega’s chaos, where Burton owned his role and apologized publicly. As neither driver is in the final 4, these types of incidents still underscore how thin the line is between hard racing and hot tempers in Xfinity’s cutthroat chase.

That raw exchange of bumps left crews fuming and spotters buzzing. But now let’s listen to the other side of the story of what made Sam Mayer so fired up that he couldn’t keep his calm, even on the cool-down lap.

Mayer’s response to Burton’s fury

Sam Mayer owned his cool-down lap retaliation but stood firm on the why. Driving for Haas Factory Team in the playoffs, the 20-year-old Wisconsin native entered Martinsville seventh in points, desperate to advance after Talladega’s heartbreak. There, Burton caused a multi-car wreck on Lap 15, which cost Mayer the race and a possible playoff berth.

The Martinsville night unraveled from there. Mayer’s early shove on Burton stemmed from that lingering grudge, but Burton’s final-lap door-slam—dropping Mayer to P7—pushed him over the edge. NASCAR officials flagged the post-race hit as intentional. And reviews around such incidents often lead to fines or points deductions, as seen with past cases like Chase Elliott‘s 2024 penalty at the Cook Out 400 NASCAR for a similar grudge spin.

“I definitely regret wrecking one of his race cars after the competition is over, but Jeb needs a wake-up call. He does not have the it factor. He has the –different factor,” Mayer told reporters trackside.

His words cut deep, echoing the garage talk of Burton’s aggressive style in 32 starts this season, where he’s notched one top-five and sits 14th in points outside the playoffs. Mayer’s hook wrecked both rides, but it highlighted the fine line between hard racing and crossing it—especially with a purple spoiler on the line.

“It’s a principle thing. He’s 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,” Mayer added, venting about Burton’s radio threats mid-race. “He’s done when I get to him.”

As NASCAR is analyzing penalties, this incident underscores playoff intensity, where one bump can end dreams and spark feuds that linger into Phoenix.