Incidents of physical altercations have recently drawn fans’ focus in NASCAR, raising a large amount of concern within the community. The latest high-profile confrontation involving driver Matt Tifft, which saw him physically assaulted, has caught the attention of seasoned NASCAR veteran Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Tifft spoke about the attack on his social media, posting, as previously reported by Newsweek Sports:
“First off, I’m okay. Nothing broken, just got that [black eye]. But wanted to address something from all the comments and people asking me if I am going to press charges. First of all, I went over there to go confront the driver. I wasn’t not expecting a fight — that happens.
“But what’s a chickens*** move really is getting thrown on the ground and then somebody coming up and kicking someone while they’re on the ground and that’s about as low as it gets.”
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During a discussion on his podcast, the Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt Jr. expressed his dismay over the attack on Tifft.
“Like that fight with Matt Tifft. Matt gets kicked in the face, they gotta handle that guy.
“He needs to not be at the racetrack for a long time. The guy who kicked Matt should not be allowed at a racetrack for a long time. No questions asked. I’m sorry, that’s the way that goes. Matt, ASA has a rule, don’t go into somebody else’s pit.
“Matt will get penalized, he is getting penalized for going into that pit. That’s a rule, I’m not going to change my rule because Matt got kicked in the face. Sorry for Matt, don’t go in that guy’s pit.”
The podcast host addressed the complexity of adjudicating intentions behind on-track incidents. He proposed a more stringent approach where involved parties are presumed guilty until proven innocent.
“NASCAR tries to stay out of the, ‘Well we don’t really know if he meant to wreck the guy. We can’t get into the grey area of assuming that was intentional.’ But maybe they need to have some sort of, hey, if you’re involved, you’re guilty. But that’s tough. That’s tough to govern.”
In comparing NASCAR to other racing disciplines, Earnhardt Jr. pointed to the stricter regulatory framework in Supercars, particularly noting the experience of Shane van Gisbergen.
“Look at SVG, right? They have such strict rules in Supercars, that he got to Cup racing and he’s like, ‘Damn these boys run through you, they bump you around, they push you around.’ He’s like, ‘We can’t do that at Supercars, we’re not allowed to touch each other. We gotta learn to get around a guy without f***ing, it’s a penalty, like encroachment if you bump into another car.”
