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Sam Mayer has been handed down a hefty penalty for his post-race clash with Jeb Burton at Martinsville Speedway. The Haas Factory Team driver will have to sit out the Phoenix race after NASCAR found him guilty of intentionally wrecking Burton.Mayer needed a strong result at Martinsville to keep his championship hopes alive, but multiple run-ins with Burton left him with a seventh-place finish and out of contention. Early in the race, Mayer gave Burton the bump-and-run treatment, and the veteran driver took out his frustration over the team radio.“Go ahead and tell the 41 (Sam Mayer) that he's done. He's done when I get to him. F*** him and his championship"Later, Burton was contending for a top-10 finish when he gave the No.41 driver a retaliatory bump to shuffle him out of order. Consequently, Mayer finished one spot behind Burton at seventh. The Ford driver wasn't pleased with the situation, as he tracked down Burton after the checkered flag and spun out the No.27 driver. They both ended up on the outside walls, and NASCAR has made sure Mayer didn't get away scot-free.NASCAR reporter Matt Weaver shared the sanctioning body's penalty for the HFT driver, writing,"Sam Mayer has been suspended for the Xfinity Series finale at Phoenix due to what happened on the cool down lap at Martinsville."Weaver previously stated his own opinion on the incident."I'll say this, once again, that when you're no longer allowed to punch someone should you feel so compelled, all you're doing is encouraging the weaponization of race cars. Let them fight, NASCAR," he wrote.If not for the penalty, Sam Mayer could've finished as high as fifth in points. HFT has responded to NASCAR's ruling with the announcement of Ryan Sieg as Mayer's replacement at Phoenix.In other news, Taylor Gray's father, Shane Gray, has been indefinitely suspended for behavorial offences after Gray's win at Martinsville.Denny Hamlin lauds Jeb Burton's team owner for his handling of the Sam Mayer situationOn the latest episode of Actions Detrimental, Denny Hamlin commended Jeb Burton's boss, Jordan Anderson, for personally confronting Sam Mayer at Martinsville. The team owner called out Mayer for causing damage that necessitated repairs, and the HFT driver ended up apologizing to Anderson.Reflecting upon the same, Hamlin said,"You've got to say a big tip of your cap to Jordan to kind of de-escalate the situation, and then going over there and addressing it himself as the car owner of 'hey, you just wrecked the car that I've got to repair.' I think he did a great job."Sam Mayer and Jeb Burton had prior history coming into Martinsville. Mayer was left with a DNF at Talladega after getting caught in a multi-car wreck triggered by Burton.
