HICKORY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Fans attending Saturday’s weekly NASCAR-sanctioned race at Hickory Motor Speedway may have gotten more than they bargained for both on the track and in the spotter’s stand.
Stock car drivers Landon Huffman and Annabeth Barnes-Crum only had a few laps left in the Advance Auto Parts Series event when the Hickory-based Huffman performed a bump-and-run on the No. 12 car, after Barnes-Crum squeezed him to the wall. Barnes-Crum then attempted to strike back in return, but spun herself out instead.
Shortly after, Barnes-Crum’s husband and fellow stock car driver Jake Crum, who was acting as his wife’s spotter, allegedly went over to former driver Robert Huffman, Landon’s father and spotter, and attacked him.
“He was busted up,” Landon Huffman told Queen City News on Thursday. “His nose was busted up. His eyes were beat up. Where he was being stomped on, he was bruised up.”
Around the same time as the altercation in the spotter’s stand, Barnes-Crum rammed her car into Huffman’s during a caution, causing significant damage to both vehicles.
“We all come here with an idea of what safe is, and we all are understanding of that,” said the younger Huffman. “Last Saturday was not that.”
The Alexander County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they arrested Crum and charged him with assault. He was released on a $500 bond.
NASCAR declined to comment on Saturday’s incident, and instead referred comment to Hickory Motor Speedway. A representative from the racetrack said they had “dealt with” both Crum and Barnes-Crum, but would not go into specifics about what action had been taken.
A source within the NASCAR organization told Queen City News that Jake is not a NASCAR member, and therefore cannot be penalized. He is, however, barred from participating in any NASCAR-sanctioned events.
“It definitely gives us a bad look,” said Huffman. “That’s not the image that we would like to put out there or be perceived as across the short track racing industry.”
Barnes-Crum also refused to comment at this time.
