Port Royal Speedway has suspended PA Sprint Series driver Nick Sweigart for one year following "inappropriate language during his victory lane interview that included derogatory remarks directed at the speedway and its personnel," a Thursday statement from the Pennsylvania half-mile read.
The penalty, effective immediately, bars Sweigart from competing in any division at Port Royal through April 18, 2027. He has also been stripped of the April 18 victory, forfeiting all track points and prize money.
"Port Royal Speedway and the PA Sprint Series are committed to promoting an environment that is welcoming to the entire family, including fans of all ages, as well as partners and sponsors who share those same values," the statement read. "The language used in victory lane on Saturday was not in line with that standard."
Officials noted that additional sanctions within IMCA RaceSaver Sprint competition could follow in line with the penalties issued by Port Royal.
Later Saturday evening, Sweigart videoed a seven-minute apology on his Facebook page, admitting that he was "frustrated with what happened on the track, and I just let that get to me during my interview."
The incident stemmed from their battle for the lead with Ken Duke Jr., with four laps remaining when the two made contact exiting turn two, sending Duke spinning up the banking.
"Everyone's gonna say I wrecked him. I f----- up. We got into him there. In all honesty, I got underneath him, he missed the bottom," Sweigart began in his victory lane interview. "We had a lapped car there. I checked up for the lapped car, got back to the throttle, and all you non-racing people aren't going to understand this, but we run easy-up shocks, so the front-end of the car jumps up when you get to the throttle. And as soon as I got back to the throttle, the front-end came up, and I got into the side of Duke.
"We were fighting for the same real estate, and unfortunately I f----- up. I drove in hard, I'd seen an opening, and, I mean, hats off to Port Royal, but the track sucked. There wasn't much f------ racing going on. Announcers want to say it's a real racy track — not really. We made the best out of what we had. This is definitely not the way we want to win races.
"Nobody wants to win a race like this. I'm going to get a lot of heat — backlash — on this. But at the end of the day, I want to race. We're on a borrowed motor. ... At this moment, we don't have a motor to run May 2, so all the crybabies, maybe you'll have May 2 to win a race."
Sweigart addressed Port Royal officials, PA Sprint Series announcer Stephanie Dotson, Duke, his team and those watching — either in person or on FloRacing — in his Saturday night apology, adding he had a hunch that “I’m sure there will be repercussions and reactions to my actions.”
“I wanted to publicly apologize for my actions in victory lane at Port Royal Speedway," he said to begin his apology. "I also wanted to apologize for my actions on and off the track. Handled myself very unprofessionally tonight. I just need to apologize to a bunch of people for my actions and things that were said tonight. First and foremost, I want to apologize to Port Royal Speedway and all the staff at Port Royal — Steve O’Neal, everyone involved.
"What I said about the track and how I went about my victory lane interview, it was very unprofessional and I’m very sorry for that. I know I need to be more mindful of what I say and when I say it. I do feel the track conditions were kinda neglected this week. I’m not gonna lie and say that I don’t think the track could’ve been better. I do understand we were battling some weather here tonight, but I don’t think that had anything to do with how the track was prepared for this evening.
"I apologize to all the kids watching," he added. "That's not how we should conduct ourselves. That's not how we should show our youth. Things like that are not OK."