“Absolute garbage.” That’s how Denny Hamlin described the chaos at Martinsville Speedway in the Xfinity Series. NASCAR fans and the Joe Gibbs veteran haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but that’s a sentiment most of the stock car racing community shared after the drama and controversy surrounding the US Marine Corps 250. With JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith being in the thick of things, it’s unsurprising that the sanctioning body penalized him for his actions. But was it enough?
Several fans don’t seem to think so. Calls mount for Dale Jr’s sophomore to be suspended from a race, stripping away his eligibility for the playoffs. Would that be too harsh, or was Sammy Smith let off easily after snatching away Taylor Gray’s triumph at Martinsville?
NASCAR forced to react after Sammy Smith’s incident
“He just has no respect for me,” said Sammy Smith when speaking to the media about his last-lap wreck with Taylor Gray. Clearly, no love was lost between the two racers, as fans caught them making contact going into Turn 3 in the final lap. It’s a move made in desperation by the No. 8 Chevy driver, who hoped to snatch a triumph to break his 11-race winless streak.
However, the attempt backfired, as not only did Smith end up 10th after colliding with teammate Justin Allgaier in Turn 4, but NASCAR also issued a hefty penalty for his actions.
Not willing to let Sammy Smith get away with the incident, NASCAR docked 50 points from the racer and penalized him $25,000 for wrecking Taylor Gray. The incident triggered a multi-car pile-up, resulting in Austin Dillon, who was running fifth just seconds before they waved the checkered flag, to take home his second triumph of the year. Martinville Speedway is called the ‘Half Mile of Mayhem’ for good reason.
Yet, the US Marine Corpos 250 almost became a demolition derby-style affair, which many felt was ‘embarrassing. ’
Justifying the penalty, Eric Peterson, Xfinity Series Managing Director, said, “Unfortunately, what Sammy did was over the line and something that we feel like we had to react to. We would prefer to leave it in the driver’s hands, but in this case, it wasn’t really a racing move, and we reacted to it as such.”
Smith’s penalty was similar to the one Austin Cindric received after intentionally wrecking Ty Dillon at Circuit of the Americas, highlighting NASCAR’s intolerance towards such incidents.
NASCAR penalties from Xfinity Series race at Martinsville:
— Sammy Smith docked 50 points, fined $25k
— Taylor Gray and Jeb Burton fined $5k each for “infield care center conduct”
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) April 1, 2025
Denny Hamlin wasn’t the only one frustrated by the incident, as Christopher Bell also mentioned, “Infuriating. My blood was boiling.” Sammy Smith’s boss, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who co-owns JR Motorsports, also tweeted, “This racetrack is historic in the grand scheme of all things NASCAR and deserves better.”
Martinsville Speedway, widely considered one of NASCAR’s most venerable tracks, saw drivers trying to bulldoze their way through with no regard for their competitors. The crashes occurred with such regularity that the sanctioning body had no choice but to wave the caution flag an impressive 14 times. Smith wasn’t the only one who incurred NASCAR’s wrath. Taylor Gray, who led 67 out of 256 laps, and fellow driver Jeb Burton, who was also involved in the last-lap wreck, were fined $5,000 each for their behavior at the Infield Care Center.
Mike Forde, NASCAR’s Managing Director of Racing Communications, justified the penalty by saying, “Taylor and Jeb were in the care center post-race, and there was some behavior that (NASCAR officials) felt stepped over the line as far as interrupting a medical situation.”
However, in the eyes of NASCAR fans, the focus was entirely on Sammy Smith, with many feeling that he was let off with just a slap on the wrist despite stealing a victory from Gray.
Dissatisfied fans call for stricter penalty against Smith
The verdict didn’t go down well with NASCAR fans. After wrecking Taylor Gray and initiating the multi-car incident, Sammy Smith was anything but apologetic in the post-race interview. Considering that Gray had a win stolen from him, it’s not surprising that motorsports enthusiasts weren’t too pleased with the sanctioning body’s verdict, with one of them writing on X, “Smith should have been suspended.” Fans echoed those sentiments, with another fan calling out NASCAR for their leniency and saying, “PURE BS, Smith should be sat.”
Fining Taylor Gray and Jeb Burton didn’t go down well with one motorsports fan, who mentioned that younger drivers needed to be held accountable for their actions. The X user cynically said, “As usual, NASCAR misses the mark. Smith should have been suspended and there shouldn’t be any fines for what goes on in the infield. If anything is true about the younger generations is that more of them need to get hit in the face.”
With 26 Xfinity Series races remaining, one fan felt that a points deduction wouldn’t deter Sammy Smith from repeating his actions in the future, writing, “Needed to be suspended one race. Whole point should have been to make sure this doesn’t happen again. 50 points will not do that.”
Another X user felt that NASCAR needed to come down hard on the JR Motorsports driver to discourage others from repeating his actions. Wishing that the penalty was harsher, the motorsports fan said, “Smith gets off easy. NASCAR should have made an example and parked him for a race.”
Do you think Sammy Smith deserved to get suspended for the last-lap wreck at Martinsville Speedway? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
The post Calls Mount for Dale Jr’s JRM Star’s Suspension as NASCAR Confirms Punishment for Martinsville Controversy appeared first on EssentiallySports.
