Alpa Prime Racing runs three entries in the NASCAR Xfinity Series — the No. 4, No. 44, and No. 45. Tommy Joe Martins is a co-owner of the team, and he was celebrating like they had just won the race as their cars crossed the finish line.<\/p>\n
Why? Well, that’s because the No. 44 car driven by Brennan Poole finished high enough to snag a spot inside the top 20 in the owner’s championship (by a single point), which is worth a nice chunk of money. To a small operation like this one, that’s a huge deal.<\/p>\n
However, moments later, Martins can be seen getting into a heated verbal spat with Joe Williams, the crew chief of the No. 4 car — an entry owned by Martins. So yes, the team co-owner and crew chief from the same organization were going at it after the race. While shouting matches aren’t uncommon in the NASCAR garage, it’s not often you one between members of the same team like this.<\/p>\n
Noah Lewis of Frontstretch.com\u00a0 was among those who recorded the altercation, as seen below:<\/p>\n
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Motorsport.com and other outlets caught up with Martins following the race, who explained the reason for the heated conversation.<\/p>\n
“Just a little bit of a disagreement with some of the tire decisions that were made on the No. 4 car, but ultimately, I think it’s just really frustrations in the moment, of just a couple of really competitive guys and the entire team,” said Martins. He went on to say that he has a lot of respect for Joe, before fully explaining the situation.<\/p>\n
It was about tires<\/p>\n
“We are a smaller budget team,” explained Martins. “We very often get tires from the Truck Series. We very often get tires from other teams when they fall out of a race, because it is cheaper than buying the full allotment of tires. We do this all the time. There was a set that came from the Truck Series that the crew chief didn’t like. Obviously, it’s his decision to not put them on the car, but when you put on eleven-lap tires, instead of putting on a mock qualifying set, you’re generally going to fall back a little bit further in the race.<\/p>\n
“Ultimately, what was told me to me was that there was a problem with that set of tires. It was chewed up, or blistered, and that’s a decision that can be made in the morning (before the race) when we inspect the tires, and it didn’t get made. So then, to just not put them on the car — I understand if something is wrong with the tire, don’t put it on the car, but at the same time, it’s not because I wouldn’t have gotten another set of tires. I definitely would get another set of tires. I didn’t know there was a problem with the tire. I’m not over there inspecting the tires. It’s a decision that we make financially over the course of the year for the team, and it’s something we do all the time. So this is not new. It’s not like all of a sudden, it’s the end of the year and I have to pinch some pennies<\/p>\n
“Most of the teams had a mock set in their inventory, so that to me is a little frustrating when I see our car falling back further, and then at the end of the day we wind up catching the flak for it. Like on the team management side, I was making some sort of team management decision. That’s very frustrating for me. I root for Joe. I root for Parker [Retzlaff, driver]. I root for our entire race team. I want them to have everything they need to go run good. It’s the end of the year. I’m really not that worried about $1,500 bucks. I would go buy another set of tires.”<\/p>\n
Martins can be seen in one video running out into pit road to celebrate Poole scoring a top 20 in points, but a new video soon after showcased a very different scene as he and Williams traded verbal barbs. He noted that the argument began in the midst of those celebrations, cutting them short.<\/p>\n
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“It was a positive year for our company,” said Martins. “Brennan getting top 20 in the owner’s points there at the end of the race — that was the thing that I was in the midst of trying to celebrate while I was basically getting insulted, and that frustrates me. Ultimately, I want every one of our teams to run really good.”<\/p>\n
On a positive note, he applauded the organization for taking cars that are roughly 33rd and 34th in terms of budget, and ending the year 20th and 24th in the owner’s standings.<\/p>\n
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