Bowyer punches Newman after NASCAR All-Star Race
Kyle Larson won NASCAR’s All-Star Race and the $1 million prize at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but the drama unfolded on pit road after it was all over.
As Larson was celebrating with a burnout Saturday night, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman got into it during the cooldown lap on the 1.5-mile racetrack. From there the action moved to pit road as the drivers began emerging from their cars.
With his helmet on, Bowyer charged hard at Newman, who was still in his car, and started vigorously throwing punches at the No. 6 Richard Childress Racing driver while he sat in his seat. An obviously angry Bowyer was eventually separated from Newman by both teams’ crew members, as well as NASCAR officials.
Fox Sports’ replay showed on the cool-down lap at the end of the race that Bowyer was driving just ahead Newman, who turned the No. 14 StewartHaas Racing Ford into the outside of the track.
After they were pulled apart, the two veteran drivers exchanged heated words at each other, with NASCAR officials near them just in case.
But as Jeff Gordon speculated during the broadcast, there was likely something else leading up to this tap and crash on the cool-down lap.
And at least from Newman’s view, there was.
As Newman explained, he was not happy with the way Bowyer raced him, and he tapped Bowyer’s bumper when the race was over to express his frustration.
Newman also very astutely pointed out that it never makes a ton of sense to throw punches
at someone wearing a helmet.
Newman didn’t hold back his criticism of Bowyer, saying: “Doesn’t take much of a man to try to fight somebody with a helmet on. I think he should be embarrassed of himself.”
On the other side, Bowyer said he didn’t know what Newman’s problem was and explained he thought the No. 6 driver was a lap down during the race.
He didn’t like Newman’s retaliation on the cool-down lap either: “After the race, he comes and runs into my back and turns me all around, and I pull up next to him, and he dumps me into (Turn) 4. Where I come from, you get poked in the nose for that. What he got.”
Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said officials will keep an eye on the two but believes the drivers will keep their issues in check going forward. Miller did not think that penalties would be
assessed in the dispute.
“We’re going to keep an eye on it,” Miller said. “We certainly think we’re in a good place with them, but we’ll certainly have to monitor it moving forward with those two.”
Bowyer started from the pole and finished 12th. He was a spot ahead of Newman in the 19-car field.
Newman is no stranger to NASCAR feuding. He’s fought with Tony Stewart and both Busch brothers, Kurt and Kyle, during his career in racing. Bowyer was bothered by Newman this season during qualifying at Texas where he felt Newman had “clogged” the middle lane and affected Bowyer’s qualifying.
Miller said NASCAR met separately with Bowyer and Newman. “They passed in the hall,” he said.