Winchester 400 winner Gio Ruggiero hits opposing crew member during a burnout
Short track racing, folks! It gets dicey and in this case way too dangerous. The Winchester 400 ended with some physical altercations. Gio Ruggiero won the race, but then chaos broke out. Stephen Nasse felt he was raced too hard and made an issue of it after the event. Late models are the grassroots of NASCAR.
Just as Gio Ruggerio was going to celebrate the Winchester 400 victory, Nasse came up to his door. The two go into each other. Then, a crew member came up and gave Ruggiero the finger.
In what was hopefully just a defiant spin after the altercation turned into something much worse. Another crew member ran out onto the track just as Ruggiero spun his car around and the 22 hit that crew member. Not a good look at all.
It is not known if ASA Stars National Tour will issue a punishment at this time.
After the Winchester 400 incident, you can see Nasse get out of his car and run at Ruggiero. Security was there to break up any kind of fight between drivers or crew members. These late-model races can get intense. A lot of pride on the line and money for these short-track racers.
Personally, I think regardless of intention, that deserves a suspension of some kind. You can’t go and hit a crew member, no matter what. It just can’t happen. Even if you think you were wronged on the track, get out of the car and settle it.
I get Gio probably wanted to celebrate. Let the track clear and the chaos go away before you do that. Or just drive back around the track and let things cool off. A very strange end of the Winchester 400.
So, we’ll know more about punishments or non-punishments soon.