While Taylor Gray celebrated his first career NASCAR win, a driver further back in the field wrecked a competitor after taking the checkered flag. According to a NASCAR official, penalties could be on the way.
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Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday and addressed the post-race incident involving Sam Mayer and Jeb Burton.
"Having (that) type of incident after the checkered flag, it's just not something we're going to tolerate," Sawyer said. "We'll get with our team today, discuss it, and see what the next steps are."
.@sam_mayer_ was not happy with @JebBurtonRacing after the race. pic.twitter.com/PIrQHCTTY9
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) October 26, 2025
Sawyer added that he will let Xfinity Series director Eric Peterson take point on this issue. Peterson will talk to both Mayer and Burton, and NASCAR will look at the replays of the multiple incidents involving the two drivers at Martinsville Speedway.
"We'll look at the race as an entirety to see what unfolded early on," Sawyer said. "And then we take all of that, we sit down and look at prior situations that are similar, and we'll make a decision on how we move forward.
"When things happen after the race and we start using vehicles to run into each other, that rises to a different level and we'll respond accordingly."
The run-ins between the two drivers began early in the race. Mayer first knocked Burton out of the way on an early restart, prompting angry comments over the radio from the Jordan Anderson Racing driver.
.@JebBurtonRacing has a score to settle with @sam_mayer_ 👀 pic.twitter.com/R2O0Mh83yy
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) October 26, 2025
Burton got back to Mayer and moved the Haas Factory Team driver in the middle of the final stage. He then moved Mayer once again on the final lap so that he could make the pass for sixth place.
Once the checkered flag flew, Mayer drove into the rear of Burton's Chevrolet and sent it into the outside wall. This move appeared intentional, which Mayer seemingly confirmed with post-race comments.
He said that he regretted wrecking one of Jordan Anderson's cars after the checkered flag but that Burton "needs a wake-up call." Mayer then made pointed comments about his fellow driver during a post-race interview with CW Sports.
"The 27 did us no favors," he said. "Last week, he caused a demolition derby and a parking lot on the front straightaway on the fastest race track we go to (Talladega Superspeedway).
"And now he just decides to be an absolute dumbass and just go around and race a guy with a purple spoiler (indicating a playoff driver), like just awful. It was awful to be around him all day. He's just fast enough to be really, really annoying but not fast enough to do anything else worth a damn. Sucks to be in that spot, around him."
Burton also addressed the incidents during his post-race availability. He said that he didn't care if Mayer needed the playoff points and called his fellow driver a punk.
"I moved him back — I didn't wreck him — I moved him," Burton said in the garage, per NBC Sports' Dustin Long. "And then after the race, he destroyed our car and wrecked us. Hopefully, NASCAR does something because he literally right-reared me into the outside wall. I hate it for my guys to tear up a car.
"I race a lot of people out here with respect and I just want it back. He ran over me for no reason, so I gave it back to him and he threw a temper tantrum. So, it is what it is."
