Former NASCAR Driver Breaks Silence On Violent Attack

Yesterday at 02:00 PM

Former NASCAR driver Matt Tifft addressed Saturday's violent altercation at Toledo Speedway.

Following the ASA STARS National Tour race, Tifft confronted Billy VanMeter about an early wreck that wiped him out of action. A VanMeter Racing crew member, Bryan Glaze, kicked Tifft in the face while he was on the ground during a scrum. VanMeter announced that Glaze is no longer part of the team after ASA STARS suspended him indefinitely.

On Monday, Tifft showed off his bruises while discussing the incident in a video posted on social media.

"First off, I'm OK. Nothing broken, just got that," Tifft said, pointing to his 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**t move, really, is getting thrown on the ground and then somebody's coming up and kicking someone while they're on the ground. That's about as low as it gets."

While the 28-year-old was initially reluctant to press charges, he hadn't reached a decision, Tifft is worried about the example their actions set for the next generation of drivers.

"A lot of 13, 14, 15-year-old kids come up through there, and we don't need somebody like that in the pit area who's dangerous," Tifft declared. "And obviously, something's wrong with him. So I've been thinking about it more. We'll see."

Despite the incident, Tifft said he "had a lot of fun" racing and will return to the series. However, he said drivers like VanMeter "got no place in our sport."

ASA STARS issued fines and penalties to Tifft, VanMeter, and Glaze on Monday. Tifft accepted his punishments and said he was "very glad" to see them remove Glaze from the pit crew.

Related: Former NASCAR Driver Attacked With Violent Kick To Head