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Photo credit: Nigel Kinrade Photography
Racing

NASCAR absolves Ty Gibbs after pit road incident

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NASCAR absolved Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs of any guilt after a collision on pit road led to a confrontation between two Cup Series teams.

The incident occurred during green flag pit stops on Lap 52 of Sunday's Cup Series race, which Shane van Gisbergen won in dominating fashion. Gibbs entered his pit stall but first drove through the pit stall belonging to the No. 6 team of RFK Racing and Brad Keselowski.

Gibbs clipped a tire being carried by RFK crew member Telvin McClurkin. The No. 6 team continued with the stop, but McClurkin headed over to the No. 54 team's pit box after Keselowski headed back to the track.

He confronted the Joe Gibbs Racing crew, which led to a shoving match involving multiple crew members. A NASCAR official got involved and broke up the fracas before it escalated further.

TNT Sports later caught up with McClurkin and learned that he had twisted his wrist after the collision, which caused a slower pit stop.

NASCAR went and examined the situation as the race continued. TNT Sports later reported that the sanctioning body had told the No. 54 team that Gibbs had done nothing wrong.

The reason for the questions about this particular pit stop is that it occurred after an incident on the track. Chris Buescher hit Gibbs from behind entering Turn 11, which sent the No. 54 Toyota wide in the track's final turn.

The pit road incident happened on the stop immediately after this on-track contact.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver spoke to TNT Sports' Marty Snider after the race and said that he had the right of way as the lead car entering the pit stall. He said there was nothing malicious on his end.

"Those guys like to push it, and that's kind of the consequence you pay," Gibbs said about the No. 6 pit crew. "That's unfortunate for them."

Gibbs ultimately finished the race in seventh place and advanced to the Final Four of the in-season challenge, where he will face Tyler Reddick. Keselowski crossed the line in 11th place.