Sam Mayer had an altercation with Ty Gibbs. (1:21)
Brandon Jones overtook Ty Gibbs on the last lap of a two-lap sprint to the finish and won at Martinsville Speedway on Friday night for his fifth career victory, and one that set off a brawl on pit road when it was over.
On the final restart, which followed a number of cautions, Joe Gibbs chose to start on the inside lane, while Jones started on the inside, and they both ran second. Jones got inside him several times, and finally grabbed the top spot, while Gibbs got caught up in a mess.
After climbing from his car, Jones said that they could have played it better. I had older tires than those guys.
When it was over, both of the competitors came to blows on the pit road. They came together in a melee after a punch was thrown by Gibbs, who was wearing his helmet.
We got put in a bad position because he got all in my face. Mayer didn't have anything, the only thing I'm mad about is that. I got hit in the left rear when he wasn't going to get past A.J. Allmendinger.
It was he who had to apologize to John Hunter Nemechek for nudging him on the final lap to claim the victory, his series-best third through seven races.
He finished eighth instead of a fourth win.
Each time the last yellow flags flew, he emerged unscathed as cars spun behind him. Much of the field crashed on the first attempt at a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish when Noah Gragson, running third, was caused to spin by second-place runner Eric Mayer.
The final caution brought out a red flag that lasted just under 20 minutes, setting the stage for the drama to finish.
Allmendinger was third and claimed the $100,000 bonus as the first of four Chevrolets behind Jones and Toyota finished second, followed by Austin Hill and Mayer.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who made his first career start on the 0.526-mile oval in his annual sojourn into the series, started at the back, never contended and was 11th.
It was a difficult finish for points leader Gragson, who was demoted to 20th place after he was taken out.
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