Sure, MVP’s foray into the world of MMA delivered big on Netflix on Saturday night, as Ronda Rousey got the better of Gina Carano, who last fought in 2009. But when the chaos outside the octagon seemed to mirror itself at Hickory Motor Speedway this past week, NASCAR fans could not keep calm. Up-and-coming driver Sally Mott was involved in an incident, and surprisingly, it was her crew’s frustration that became most visible.
Mott found herself in a competitive spot while racing at Hickory. But as it usually happens on the 0.3-mile track, an incident right in front of her, involving what seemed to be the #97 of Billy Jack Lester, unfolded. The #97 turned around, and Mott’s #15 faced a direct hit, damaging her front. She drove back to the pit lane, and considering the damage, it was apparent that she couldn’t rejoin the race.
However, things were anything but calm in the pit lane. The #97 also parked up, and the crew members of both teams began arguing, which soon turned into a full-blown physical brawl. Punches were thrown around as others attempted to stop the crew from fighting.
However, this is not new to Hickory. Since becoming part of NASCAR, the track has been home to plenty of incidents. Just look at 2023. Stock car drivers Landon Huffman and Annabeth Barnes-Crum had only a few laps remaining in an Advance Auto Parts Series event when the Hickory-based Huffman executed a bump-and-run on the No. 12 car after Barnes-Crum squeezed him into the wall. Barnes-Crum then attempted to retaliate but ended up spinning herself out instead.
Shortly afterward, Barnes-Crum’s husband and fellow stock car driver, Jake Crum, who was serving as her spotter, allegedly approached former driver Robert Huffman, Landon’s father and spotter, and attacked him. Around the same time as the altercation in the spotters’ stand, Barnes-Crum rammed her car into Huffman’s under caution, causing significant damage to both vehicles.
Sometimes, the tempers that flare on this track are understandable given its short layout and tight corners, where even the smallest mistake can trigger a major multi-car wreck. But for some of the up-and-coming drivers, that level of chaos is still new, and that seemed to be the case with Mott.
“Really bad luck last night. We only completed 8 of 60 laps after getting sent to the rear on lap 3 from getting taken out,” she wrote on Instagram. “We fought our way back quickly, making up 4 spots in 5 laps and building serious momentum toward the front before getting collected in someone else’s mess with nowhere to go.”
While this was understandably unfortunate, as she had a good pace in the race, fans on social media had quite a unique perspective, especially regarding the brawl that broke out.
Fans react to the Hickory brawl
“Better than the Ronda Rousey fight,” one user wrote, considering just how long the brawl seemed to be going on for.
Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano took to the Octagon, but their fight ended after just 17 seconds, turning out to be a major disappointment for the spectators. While at least this fan compared it to the UFC, others felt that the on-track brawl between the crew members wasn’t entertaining enough either.
“That wasn’t a fight. They were practicing for a WWE promo,” wrote another fan.
It could be seen in the clip circulated on social media that, although the fight looked brutal, it wasn’t actually all that violent. None of the punches appeared to land cleanly, and the scene felt more chaotic than genuinely aggressive, and that is understandable, considering they were crew members and not professional wrestlers.
“What are they all aggressively hugging about?” another comment read.
“If you see the longer version of the video, it looks like a misunderstanding. That car pulled into the pits and legit couldn’t see because the hood was over the windshield. Two guys went over, reposition the bumper in the hood so the driver could see, and that’s when the other guys crew jumped in,” one user wrote.
It was a bit difficult to understand the crux of the situation at first, but this user’s explanation seemed fairly accurate. Mott appeared to have trouble seeing what was ahead because of the damaged hood, and while her crew was attempting to repair it, the brawl broke out.
While there were no serious injuries, neither from the crash nor the brawl, it served as one of the biggest examples of how violent motorsports can sometimes turn out to be. Although similar brawls have also been observed in NASCAR, even in the Cup Series, they are usually not very long-lasting, and the drivers face a penalty.
