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NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer has confirmed that officials are reviewing Sam Mayer’s post-race retaliation against Jeb Burton at Martinsville Speedway. The comments came two days after Saturday night’s IAA & Ritchie Bros. 250, the Xfinity Series Round of 8 finale that decided the Championship 4 spots.Early in the race, Mayer bumped Burton out of the way on a restart, sparking a back-and-forth that continued through the night. The pair found each other again in the closing laps, racing hard for sixth on the final lap, as Mayer was fighting to stay alive in the playoffs.After getting eliminated, Mayer appeared to intentionally wreck Burton in Turn 1 past the checkered flag - an act that drew immediate attention from officials.“Having (that) type of incident after the checkered flag, it’s just not something we’re going to tolerate,” Sawyer said Tuesday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (via NBC). “We’ll get with our team today, discuss it, and see what the next steps are.”The incident is now under formal review, with NASCAR officials set to assess replays, radio traffic, and prior precedents before determining any penalty. Sawyer confirmed that Xfinity Series director Eric Peterson will speak to both drivers before a decision is made.“I’ll let our series director, Eric Peterson run point. He’ll talk to both driver, in this case Jeb and Sam, get their side of the story. 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... we’ll respond accordingly,” Sawyer added.On track, the exchange left both cars heavily damaged. Jeb Burton was furious afterward, though there was no physical confrontation on pit road. His team owner, Jordan Anderson, approached Sam Mayer and gave him a heated lecture over the wrecked No. 27 car. Mayer later expressed regret, but only toward Anderson.“I honestly hate it for Jordan,” Mayer said (via CW Sports). “Jordan is one of the coolest guys in the garage. He's worked his tail off to get to this point. 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.” [2:08 onwards]Burton didn’t hold back either, calling Sam Mayer’s move “a temper tantrum.”“(Mayer) destroyed our car and wrecked us,” Burton said. “Hopefully NASCAR does something because he literally right-reared me into the outside wall... I race a lot of people with respect and just want it back... The way he acts, he’s a punk. I think everybody knows that.”The penalty decision is expected later this week as NASCAR completes its review.Sam Mayer’s Martinsville chaos ends strong playoff runSam Mayer at Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. Source: ImagnFor Sam Mayer, the Martinsville finish capped a night that started with promise. Entering the Round of 8 finale 22 points below the cutline, the Haas Factory Team driver needed a strong showing to make the Championship 4. He was competitive from the start, finishing top five in both stages, leading 32 laps, and collecting 43 points on Sunday to keep his hopes alive deep into the final stage.Even through multiple cautions and restarts, his #41 Ford remained in the top 10. But contact with Burton in the closing laps unraveled what could have been a crucial top-five finish. He ultimately crossed the line sixth, with Burton seventh.Speaking after the race, Mayer vented his frustration and said (via CW Sports):“The 27 (Jeb Burton) did us no favors. Last week, he caused a demolition derby and a parking lot on the front straightaway at the fastest track (Talladega) we go to. And now he just decides to be an absolute dumb**s and race a guy with a purple spoiler, just awful. It was awful to be around him all day. He’s just fast enough to be really, really annoying but not fast enough to do anything else worth a damn.” [0:56 onwards]Sam Mayer finished eight points below the cutline, while the Championship 4 field is now set for Phoenix: Carson Kvapil, Jesse Love, Justin Allgaier, and Connor Zilisch.
