Henrico County Police had two adult males in custody Friday night after a fight in the driver/owner lot of Richmond International Raceway following a Nationwide Series race where Richard Childress Racing and Turner Scott Racing crews and drivers nearly brawled. The police department did not reveal details of who was involved in the altercation but Richard Childress Racing confirmed its involvement and multiple sources said Turner Scott Motorsports personnel and driver Nelson Piquet Jr. were talking to police in the motorhome lot. A statement from Richard Childress Racing Director of Communications Tim Packman confirmed the teams involvement. ‘We are aware an incident took place outside of the tracks infield following Friday nights NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway involving members of our team and others from another team’ the statement said. ‘We are cooperating with the local authorities in this matter.” The incident occurred a little more than an hour after the race. Two separate incidents following the Nationwide Series race involved RCR and Turner Scott Motorsports, sparked by an on-track incident between Piquet and RCR driver Brian Scott. Following the race, both crews nearly came to blows and Scott went up to Piquet, who shoved Scott away and then kicked him in the groin. Piquet later apologized for kicking Scott, saying it was in self-defense.( Sporting News )(4-27-2013) UPDATE: Police have released the names of two Richard Childress Racing crew members arrested for alleged assault at Richmond International Raceway late Friday night. Michael A. Scearce, 50, and Thomas F. Costello, 35, were taken into custody after a postrace incident spilled over to the driver/owner motorhome lot. The assault injured one of the two adult male victims, whose names were not released. Scearce and Costello are both members of RCRs #2 team, which fields cars for Brian Scott. Both men were charged with misdemeanors and released early Saturday morning, according to Henrico County police Lt. Linda Toney. A court date for both will be determined at a later time.( USA Today )(4-27-2013) UPDATE 2: Statement from Richard Childress: ‘I didnt witness what took place last night outside of the race track. Our team members were walking to their cars and words were exchanged with members from another team, which led to an altercation. I am still learning all the exact details and, because it did happen outside of the track, local authorities became involved. We are working with them to resolve this matter. We are now concentrating on winning the Sprint Cup race tonight.”(RCR)(4-27-2013) UPDATE 3: Statement from Turner Scott Motorsports: ‘Turner Scott Motorsports can confirm that an incident occurred near the Driver/Owner parking lot of Richmond International Raceway following the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Friday, April 26th. Several members of another race team confronted a group that included Nelson Piquet Jr., resulting in the arrest of two individuals from the other race team. TSM will have no further comment on the incident as the matter is an active case with the Henrico Police Department.”(TSM)
