It seems like there has been a surge in violent off-track incidents in the racing scene of late. The most recent altercation took place at the Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park. On a day when fans were holding their breath to see how the Cup Series’ newest addition Josh Berry performed, things got way out of hand. 

The fight at the Southern National Motorsports Park took place between Bradley McCaskill and Ryan Joyner. An on-track incident with just a few laps to go in the Limited Late Model event saw Joyner’s #15 bump into the back of McCaskill’s #7. 

McCaskill and Joyner had been racing hard for quite some time throughout the race as they battled for P2. However, Joyner seemed to be irritated at McCaskill’s hard defense. He did push his competitor through turns 3 and 4 but as they passed the start/finish line, the #15 swatted the #7 off the track on purpose and he crashed into the wall on the right. It must have been beyond frustrating for Bradley McCaskill, who had started the race from the pole and was looking to fight for the win towards the end.

However, it was not just the #15 that saw its race ended prematurely. The race directors rightfully decided that Ryan Joyner was out of order and he was shown the black flag, which meant instant disqualification. As the #15 came to a halt on pit road, Brad McCaskill went to confront his rival. He had his head through the window of the #15 when a fight broke out behind him. The driver’s head bounced hard against the frame of the door and all hell broke loose thereafter.

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Due to the lack of Cup, Xfinity, or Truck Series action and the presence of big-name drivers like Josh Berry, a lot of the focus has fallen on the Late Model Racing scene and the altercation drew the attention of some eminent NASCAR personalities. Kenny Wallace was one such person and the 60-year-old gave the example of the late Dale Earnhardt to explain just how immature these drivers were. 

“This is why Dale Earnhardt Senior #3 was so good. Earnhardt would wreck you and not hurt himself like this man did,” the 60-year-old wrote on Twitter, sharing a video of the fight at the Southern National Motorsports Park.

However, that was not the end of the drama between the two drivers as Bradley McCaskill was preparing to take part in the Late Model Stock event later in the afternoon.

Irate Late Model driver attempted to sabotage his rival’s race after the violent altercation

Ryan Joyner was just as dissatisfied as his rival was with what happened during the Limited Late Model race and later on the pit road. Unable to control his rage, the driver of the #15 walked over to Bradley McCaskill’s #41 car which was scheduled to run in a Late Model Stock race later in the afternoon, and reportedly yanked out the ignition box.

The two drivers got into a scuffle yet again as McCaskill’s mechanics rushed around to get the #41 to as good a shape as possible. Ultimately, they did a decent enough job and McCaskill displayed a fantastic drive to finish P9. It was a fine result considering the storm he had gone through earlier in the day. The race was won by Brenden Queen and Cup Series driver Josh Berry finished P3 behind Kaden Honeycutt.

However, the biggest story coming out of the 2023 Thanksgiving Classic was the fight between Ryan Joyner and Bradley McCaskill. Such incidents have been a theme in Late Model Racing in 2023 and it has drawn the ire of fans and insiders alike for its detrimental impact on racing.

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