Jerry Baxter fined $5,000 by NASCAR for fighting like a girl
Baxter was crew chief for Patrick Carpentier, who already had announced he would retire following the race. Wallace had run into Carpentier while the two were battling for fourth place, ruining Carpentier’s day with less than 20 laps to go.
After Wallace stopped on pit road following the event, Baxter reached inside the driver’s side window and yanked Wallace’s hair.
“I’m sorry for what happened after the race on Saturday and I take responsibility for my own actions," Baxter said Monday in a statement. “I called Steve today and apologized. I was just very frustrated and let my emotions get to me.
“That was Patrick’s last race and we wanted to make it special. We really thought he had a shot for the win and everything boiled over when that chance went away in the wreck. Everyone was just racing hard and there was no intent to wreck anyone. There’s no excuse for what I did after the race and I apologize to everyone."