Casey Mears and Marcos Ambrose had a “real good conversation” about their encounter in the garage in the aftermath of Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway.
Casey Mears: ‘I kind of wanted to hit him’
Casey Mears and Marcos Ambrose have spoken and cleared the air following their post-race fight Saturday night.
Robert Laberge
Following a shoving match, Ambrose punched Mears, who had a swollen left eye during an appearance on Fox Sports 1’s RaceHub Monday.
“Just talked through it,” Mears said. “Things happen, you get upset. We’re a couple of guys and we’re passionate about what we do. I was on the downside of it but I think we both got our point across and kind of understand where we’re at now.
“At the end of the day, none of that should ever happen. But in the heat of the moment when you get out of your race car, it just happened to you -- some stuff you didn’t like.”
NASCAR is investigating the incident. Any penalties would be announced Tuesday.
When asked what incited the scuffle, Mears wouldn’t specify, saying, “a few things on the track.” The two were racing for the 18th position in the closing laps of the Toyota Owners 400. Ambrose finished 18th, Mears 19th.
As for any hard feelings that may linger, Mears said both he and Ambrose have moved on for the “most part” but, “You never forget getting hit.”
Mears, who appeared to initiate the confrontation in the video aired Saturday by Fox, said he wanted to strike Ambrose but thought better of it.
“We started going at each other and before we knew it, it escalated really quickly,” Mears said. “For a moment there, I kind of wanted to hit him. And I thought, ‘I can’t do that.’ So, I grabbed him, and it turned out the way that it did. Unfortunately, I ended up getting hit.”
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