Fan Climbs Catch Fence and Kicks Cop at NASCAR Race, Gets Charged With Felony

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byCaleb Jacobs|
Fan Climbs Catch Fence and Kicks Cop at NASCAR Race, Gets Charged With Felony
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Drunken Nascar fans are an endless source of entertainment. Brash antics and outlandish displays of affection are a common site across America's favorite tracks—and this past week at Bristol International Speedway, we got to see something even better. One racing fan climbed up the catch fence after fleeing from the police, all while being caught on tape by onlookers everywhere. Once he got down, he (unsuccessfully) evaded a fleet of cops and kicked an officer in the knee, earning him a felony charge. In spite of all of this, here wasn't even a caution flag thrown for the race.

Identified by USA Today as John Infanti, the 43-year-old man took to climbing towards the sky during a green flag run of Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series. Infanti was reportedly intoxicated and brought into custody after he climbed back down from the catch fence. Police spokesperson Mark Hoffman spoke with the press after the event, giving a backstory to the charges pressed against the fan.

"Simply running from the police is a misdemeanor, but when he kicked our officer, that makes it ‘with force,’” Hoffman told USA Today.

Infanti also has been hit with misdemeanor counts for offensive touching of a police officer and disorderly conduct.

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This comes nearly three years after a similar instance occurred in Richmond, where James Dennis was charged with public intoxication and disorderly conduct. Much like Infanti, Dennis climbed the fence during the middle of the race, though a caution flag was thrown to avoid any more trouble. Dennis was sentenced to a year in jail.

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