Love may have won out in NASCAR’s 2025 Xfinity Series championship decider in Phoenix, but it was not very evident elsewhere on pit road.

The 20-year-old Jesse Love was the man who eventually won it all as he denied teen phenom Connor Zilisch by beating him into third position.

While that climax to the season did provide plenty of drama in Arizona, there was entertainment elsewhere - notably an fighting with a member of his OWN TEAM.

While Love was celebrating in the immediate aftermath of his glorious success, Alpha Prime Racing co-owner Tommy Joe Martins was getting into it with a crew chief, one of his own.

The heated conversation - captured in social media posts - came as a surprise with Martins and his team initially celebrating a terrific result for Brennan Poole in the No. 44 car. It earned a top 20 spot in the owner’s championship and a nice pay bonus.

Soon after though, thoughts turned to the No. 4 car driven by Parker Retzlaff and that became the spark for a major flashpoint.

So why the fight on pit road?

Martins - speaking to media including Motorsport.com - explained: "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.

"We are a smaller budget team. 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.

"Ultimately, what was told 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.”

Retzlaff would eventually finish the day in 27th position in the No. 4 car, claiming 10 points in the process.