Former NASCAR driver Matt Tifft kicked in face during pit road fight at Toledo Speedway

An unfortunate night on the track in the Glass City 200 turned into a very unfortunate one off the track for former Cup driver Matt Tifft. After being wrecked out of the ASA Stars Tour race, the former NASCAR driver got into a scuffle that ended with him taking a shoe to the face.

It was a cowardly move from the individual who did the kicking. Matt Tifft wanted to talk to Billy VanMeter after the race at Toledo Speedway. He felt that VanMeter had ended his day as well as the day of three others.

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Tifft confronted the driver on pit road, was then grabbed and taken to the ground. While he was on the ground, as he captured on audio and video, he was then kicked in the face by someone wearing a VanMeter shirt.

Matt Weaver for Short Track Scene reported that it was crew member Bryan Glaze.

Here is the video from Matt Tifft. A brutal hit to the face and completely unnecessary. ASA will announce penalties, if any, in the coming days.

Had a great race until getting wrecked by someone who went on to take out 3 more cars. Can’t stand people with no respect for others' equipment. Always a good sign when several teams thank you after confronting them. Hopefully the last time getting 'VanMetered.’ pic.twitter.com/qIIudnKto1

— Matt Tifft (@matt_tifft) September 15, 2024

NASCAR fans will remember Matt Tifft for his time in the Xfinity Series and Cup Series. When he was young, he was a promising prospect who had his career derailed by a brain tumor. Tifft became the youngest team owner ever in the Cup Series when he became part-owner of Live Fast Motorsports.

Short-track racing gets intense. Pushing and shoving on pit road happens. Hell, full-on fistfights. However, kicking anyone while they are on the ground and defenseless is uncalled for. Tifft took it in stride, though.

Tifft was racing in the top-10 when he was wrecked out of the race. It didn’t appear VanMeter thought he did anything wrong by the video.

Matt Tifft makes pavement Super Late Model debut

The big story for Matt Tifft this weekend should have been his performance on the track. This was during his Super Late Model pavement debut. Toledo Speedway is a racetrack that has hosted many races, is on the ARCA circuit, and provides a venue for good racing.

However, it ended up taking a turn, as we have seen. Kudos to Tifft for keeping his cool. After getting kicked he could have, rightfully, gone after the guy who did it. Given his past medical history, this all looks even worse.

The good news, other teams apparently thanked Tifft for speaking out. While the night ended with him bloody and with a wrecked car, he put up a good effort. And I really hope that Pizza Hut was the best pizza he’s ever had. He earned it.

So, it appears that grassroots racing is still as rowdy as ever. The ASA Stars National Tour is a great series. This does not represent it in the least.