Former Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought light to a chaotic night of the CARS Tour Throwback 276 race at Hickory Motor Speedway. Earnhardt Jr. is a co-owner of the regional series with two-time Xfinity Series champion Kevin Harvick. Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his debut in the Xfinity Series (formerly Busch) in 1996. A few years later, he became a full-time rider and won back-to-back titles in 1998 and 1999. In NASCAR’s top division, Dale Jr. had 26 race wins, but could never catch up with his father Dale Earnhardt Sr., who won seven Cup Series championships. After an eventful Brickyard 400, the CARS Tour race did not disappoint. Dale Earnhardt Jr. driver Landon Huffman returned to the CARS Tour at Hickory in the #37 Carroll Speed Shop. With 63 laps remaining in the race, Huffman made contact with the left rear of Andrew Grady’s #1 car, ending his race. Grady was so enraged he was seen throwing his belt at Huffman’s #37 jersey. After the race, a fight broke out in the pit lane between the #1 and #37 teams. Here’s a look at the incident: (via the frontstretch to the X)
After the race, words were exchanged between both drivers. Denny Hamlin was brought into the conversation when Grady quoted Hamlin calling Huffman a “cheater” and a “trash panda.” Dale Earnhardt Jr. also offered his thoughts on the chaos seen at Hickory. He congratulated the winner and wrote about X:
“What a wild night for the @CARSTour. @hickoryspeedway is a bullring and there are always fireworks. Congratulations to @RonnieBassett04 on his win. His team has been instrumental in the series for many years. It was a tough night for race operations but they met expectations and standards.
Ronnie Bassett Jr. won his first zMAX CARS Tour race after an action-packed race at Hickory Motor Speedway. Bassett Jr. did not cross the line first, as Ryan Millington beat him, but Millington was penalized by race officials after the race for contact with Connor Hall on the final lap of Throwback 276. Bassett Jr. finished second and took the win without a fight.
“Wants to call me a hack, that’s fine” – Dale Jr.’s driver Landon Huffman lashes Andrew Grady’s heated comments
Andrew Grady also didn’t hold back on his words when he turned Landon Huffman around and sent him into the fence. The incident ended prematurely for Grady, who was unhappy with Huffman’s tactics.
Grady was seen quoting JGR driver Denny Hamlin, who once called Huffman a driver who ruins everything. In a post-race interview with Frontstretch magazine, Huffman responded to Grady:
“I’m not here to ruin people […] I’ve seen him (Andrew Grady) ruin more race cars than he’s completed races. He wants to call me a screw-up, but that’s fine.” “I have a few championships and about 40 wins in Stock Late Models, so he’s got that to chew on,” Huffman said, adding that Andrew Grady was unhappy with the outcome of the race and would talk to Huffman about the incident before he left Hickory Motor Speedway.
