NASCAR's Max Papis Says Slap from Mike Skeen's Girlfriend Dislocated His Jaw

Sep 2 2013 - 10:47am

Altercations are nothing new in the world of NASCAR as emotions often run high on the track, but Max Papis found himself on the receiving end of a slap from an unexpected assailant following the Camping World Truck Series race in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada on Sunday as he was slapped by fellow driver Mike Skeen's girlfriend, according to Marty Smith of ESPN.com. 

Papis and Skeen were battling for third place late in the race, but they ultimately wrecked, which resulted in Papis finishing sixth, and Skeen finishing 13th. Ordinarily, Papis and Skeen might have gotten into a shouting match or even a physical altercation after the race, but Skeen's girlfriend took matters into her own hands.

As seen in this video courtesy of Queers4Gears on Twitter, Skeen's girlfriend walked up to Papis following the race and absolutely walloped him on his left cheek.

Papis told Smith that he didn't know what to make of the situation as it happened, and it resulted in his jaw getting dislocated as well.

"This crazy lady comes shouting at me, and I had no idea, didn't even understand her, she just started shouting," Papis told ESPN.com some four hours after the altercation at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. "And all the sudden, she took a full hand -- and she slapped me so hard. I'm not kidding. My jaw got dislocated and my left ear is still ringing, big time."

Much to Papis' credit, he took the slap and didn't retaliate as he wanted to keep the situation between himself and Skeen, as he said on Twitter.

Papis didn't waste an opportunity to take some shots at Skeen over Twitter during the aftermath, though, as he accused the driver of cowering when he confronted him following the incident.

The woman who slapped Papis has been identified as Kelly Heaphy, according to Lee Spencer of FOXSports.com, and while neither she nor Skeen have commented publicly on the situation, Papis has done enough talking for both of them.

"It needs to stay between the drivers," Papis said. "I think NASCAR should do something about it. I don't even like that [Skeen's] team member pulled me out of the truck, much less this lady slapping me. Drivers can have arguments with each other -- but it shouldn't affect what other people do."

It remains to be seen what type of action NASCAR will take, if any, but it seems likely that something will be done. The safety of the drivers on the track has long been NASCAR's No. 1 priority, but it needs to ensure that they are equally safe off of it.

 

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